For What It's Worth
by Jazzmatazz30
Summary: The Weasley kids think they're all grown up, but you're never too old to learn a lesson or two. Sequel to The Ties That Bind. Now includes Lily, Lucy, Hugo, and Louis POV's.
1. Speak Now

**I still do not own Harry Potter, in case you were wondering.**

"Fond gestures are exchanged  
>And the organ starts to play<br>A song that sounds like a death march  
>And I am hiding in the curtains<br>It seems that I was uninvited  
>By your lovely bride-to-be"<p>

-Tay Swizzle

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_This was Lily's first time in the halls of Hogwarts, and she had not expected to spend this moment chasing her brother and cousin around. One minute she was in the grass trying to see how big of a rock she'd need to throw to get Hagrid's attention, and the next, all of her cousins were running after each other and moving towards the castle. From years of being the youngest she'd learned that if she was going to find out what was going on she'd have to find out on her own. They certainly weren't going to invite her and if she asked they'd say no, so she just ran after them. She didn't even know that it was Teddy and Vic that she was chasing until she heard Molly yelling after them, but clearly this was important but she kept running anyway. Her short legs gave her a slight disadvantage compared to the rest of her family, but she was quick, so by the time she caught up she hadn't missed much._

_"Are you guys mental?" Molly asked once they had all piled into Teddy's office. Lily was the shortest, so it was easy for her to slip under Fred's legs and get a better view of the scene. When she had finally slipped to the front of the crowd she saw _her _cousin and _her _big brother standing in a fireplace with the goofiest smiles she'd ever seen. "Where in the world are you going?"_

_"To our destiny." Vic answered with a goofy smile._

_"What?" they all asked in unison. Lily had only just turned 12, and she wasn't a genius or anything, but she was almost positive that unless it was connected to the floo network, the floo couldn't take you to your destiny._

_"We're getting married." Teddy answered confidently before throwing the floo powder towards their feet and saying two words. "Las Vegas." With a poof, the two of them were gone, and Lily wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it herself._

"_What just happened?" James asked, "Did that really just happen?"_

"_Did what just happen?" her dad said as he ran in with the other adults. They all had panicked looks on their faces like they were about to fight the next wizarding war. "Is everyone ok?"_

"_Everything's fine Uncle Harry. We were just about to come find you guys." Roxy tried. She was brave for giving it a shot, that was just how Roxy was, but it wasn't going to work with all of their parents this time. 13 of them had run into the room and there were only 11 left standing awkwardly in front of a fireplace. This was not going to end well, and Lily decided in this moment that the less she spoke, the safer she'd be._

"_No need. We were thinking of having a congratulations lunch for Victoire at the Leaky Cauldron; how does that sound?"_

"_That sounds great! C'mon guys, let's go!" Roxy began ushering everyone towards the door, but Lily could see all of the parents getting suspicious._

"_Wait a minute." Ginny asked. "Where's Victoire? And Teddy?"_

_"Vic and Teddy? Haven't seen them, sorry." Roxy lied before turning to the rest of the group. "Have you guys seen them?" A few of them shook their heads while a few mumble 'no', but it hadn't changed the look of confusion in her mother's eye._

_"No, I'm pretty sure I saw them come in here right before you guys." The room went completely silent. Even Roxy didn't have the guts to try and talk her way out of this one. "Ok, what's the big secret? What got broken, who got injured, where's the fire?"_

_"Nothing, no one, there isn't any." James answered._

_"Then by all means, what is it?"_

"_Go ahead Lily, tell them!" Dom whispered. So much for silence being golden. She looked around the room to see her brothers and cousins nodding, clearly in agreement that she should be the one thrown to the dogs. Betrayal. At this moment Lily felt complete and utter betrayal._

"_Me?" she shouted angrily; somehow, no matter how cute they accused her of being, she ended up getting thrown under the bus, "Why do I have to tell them?"_

"_Tell us what Lily?" her dad asked. She couldn't believe they had left her to do this, but at least this way she wouldn't get in trouble for lying. Her dad would definitely make sure she didn't get in trouble. Plus, it wasn't like she ran off to Las Wherever to get married._

"_Well," she started, in her sweetest voice, "Vic and Teddy went to Las- Las- um, well I don't exactly know where they went; but they're going to get married."_

"_WHAT!"_

* * *

><p>"These suits are so itchy." Hugo complained, as Lily fixed his tie. "Why do we have to wear these things anyway? They're hideous!"<p>

"Your opinion is not credible because if it was up to you, you'd have shown up in jeans and a sweatshirt." Dominique snorted.

"And what's wrong with that?" Louis asked, "It's much better than these stupid monkey suits."

"Stop complaining; you can take it off as soon as this is over." Lily couldn't understand why the boys were complaining so much. Now to be clear, she wasn't looking forward to this day either, but she would take an excuse to wear a nice, slightly loud, dress any time. She looked over at James, whose tie was even worse than Hugo's. Must she do everything? "James, you're fourteen years old, you'd think you'd know how to tie a tie by now."

"I like it messy, Lils. It's called personal style." He said as he mussed his hair.

"How do you know how to tie a tie anyway?" Al added, more jokingly than James who had clearly not thought of this before.

"Yeah, what blokes have you been tying ties for?"

"Will you two calm down? I've been trying daddy's ties for him before he goes to work since I was 6."

"Can someone run upstairs and get Victoire?" their grandmother asked from the door, interrupting James. "Lily, run upstairs and see what's taking Vic so long would you?"

Lily looked around the room. She, Hugo, Lucy, Dom, Fred, Louis, James and Al were all there, but of course she was the one that had to run upstairs and get Victoire. She would have complained, but she did not want to get in any trouble today.

"Yes, grandmother." She answered with a smile.

"Thank you dear, you're so sweet." She said lovingly. That was her; sweet, loveable, adorable, happy Lily. It was absolutely frustrating. Yes, she was the favorite child, but it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Her brothers thought it was all about getting what you want and never getting in trouble, but it was really about going places you didn't want to go, doing ballet for years when you hate it, and trying to keep everyone happy. It was like a full-time job and she was only 11. But to credit herself, Lily was a very mature 11.

She walked up the stairs in search of Victoire and came across Roxy and her boyfriend Lex sneaking out of her mum's old room. They were disgusting. Since she'd me Lex last year, Lily had caught Roxanne and her boyfriend in compromising situations at least 50 times. Right now Roxy was flattening out her hair and Lex was trying to wipe lipstick off of his face. His balls must be humungous if he had the gumption to mess around with Roxy, their family's golden girl, right under her parents' noses. Both of them looked extremely flushed and sweaty, like they had just gotten away with murder.

"Had a nice time?" Lily asked, causing them both to jump.

"Oh my goodness Lily, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough. You guys are gross; and in my mother's old room?"

"What do you mean?" Lex asked, "I was just zipping up Rox's dress for her. It was stuck." This is why Lily considered herself mature. She knew good and well that Lex had not been zipping up any dresses and that he had been having making out with her cousin. It was all gross if you asked her. In Grade 5- muggle schools called them grades- they'd had a specialist come and give them a talk about the birds and the bees, hormones, periods, fluids and a lot more disgusting things like that. She didn't know what the birds had to do with the hormones and stuff, but she did know what sex was. Lily could have gotten on without knowing, but she was thankful for that instead of having to figure it out on her own or hear it from her mom and dad.

"Oh Alexander!" her grandmother squealed, "You found Roxanne! Now the two of you need to hurry downstairs, we're starting soon. Off you go! Don't you just love weddings?" her Grandmother asked before flitting down the stairs.

Lily contemplated her Grandmother's question. _Did _she like weddings? Yes. Lily loved flowers and cake and color wheels and lace and taking pictures. Was she going to like _this _wedding? Probably not. This one would be her first, but it wasn't your usual wedding ceremony. You see, her idiot of a brother and psycho of a cousin decided to run off and elope at the beginning of the summer. The two of them quite literally vanished into thin air, leaving Lily and the rest of the younger kids to clean up their big mess. The months following their scandal were intense. Teddy and Vic sent a letter saying they were taking a summer long honey moon at a disclosed location and that none of the family should look for them or worry about them. They also added a special note to Lily's mother, instructing her to not get upset; to which she laughed before unleashing hell on Lily, her brothers and her father. Ginny spent most of her free time yelling at whoever was nearest about any and everything she could think of.

Aside from the occasional scolding, Lily was glad that her mother had opposed the nuptials, because no one else seemed to be bothered. Her brothers could care less and her father kept saying that everything happens for a reason. Everyone else pretty much went about their business as if nothing had happened. Teddy went back to work at Hogwarts and Vic was starting at St. Mungo's and their Grandmother spent all of her free time planning them the wedding that they clearly had not wanted in the first place. When everyone got home that summer, they were informed of the wedding ceremony. Even Vic and Teddy hadn't known about it. The wedding plans, or the original plans, were simply perfect- not that they deserved to be wasted on these two idiots. They had been protesting the entire ceremony the second they got back from wherever they had been hiding out, and if Lily had her way she'd send them right back. Clearly they hadn't wanted anyone to be a part of their marital bliss, so why was Lily wasting her beautiful Saturday corralling cousins and tying ties?

Lily pushed away her thoughts and knocked on Vic's door three times. When she got no answer she walked in on her own, only to find Vic and Teddy tangled up in a ball of silk and crinoline and lace and polyester.

"Teddy! What are you doing in here?" she screamed before throwing her purse at them. The two of them pulled apart quickly and had the decency to look ashamed.

"Um, I was helping Vic zip her dress."

"What? Why is everyone saying that? Never mind; you can't be in here."

"Why not?"

"You can't see the bride before wedding; it's bad luck or something."

"That doesn't count Lily; we got married 3 montsh ago on the day I graduate." Vic complained. She was twirling her long blonde hair around her finger in a way that said she really didn't want to be here. _That makes two of us Barbie._

"Negative. You idiots eloped four months ago; _that_ doesn't count."

"Actually it does."

"No, it does not! You all went there on a whim; you didn't even have your family there."

"Ever consider we didn't want all of you there? this whole wedding thing today is just to make grandmother happy. Otherwise we'd be at home minding our business."

Lily could not believe what she was hearing. Vic had turned into such a…such a… a bitch! It wasn't like the two of them had ever been the absolute best of friends, but she didn't think that Vic would be so inconsiderate about the whole situation. It's not like the rest of them were chomping at the bit to be at their wedding either, and yet here they were dressed in the most heinous of blue's, which was -"Vic and Teddy's color"- about to watch the two of them grudgingly exchange vows in front of 50 of their closest friends. Lily knew she hadn't originally been the wedding's biggest fan, but Vic's sour attitude changed her mind. This hadn't been their decision to make alone; it was a matter that would affect the family so the family should have been considered. Teddy was her brother and if she wanted to see him get married then by Merlin she was going to see him and that stupid jumble of emotions he called his wife get married…again. Victoire was not going to brat up what was supposed to be a momentous occasion in their lives.

"Oh, you're so right." Lily said sarcastically, taking a look in the mirror before heading towards the door "I must have forgotten; the rest of us just don't bloody matter to you guys any more. As long as the two of you are together in la la land shagging one another's brains out-"

"Lily Potter, that's enough!" Teddy screamed. She couldn't believe Teddy had just yelled at her; he'd never yelled at her before. She loved Victoire, but being married to her brother had changed him and Lily didn't like it. At all.

"Well, I was supposed to tell you to come outside; they're ready to start." She said trying not to show that he had hurt her feelings.

"Lil, I didn't mean to yell at-"

"Whatever; just hurry up so we can get this wedding _thing _over with." Lily ran down the stairs and out the back door, taking her place in the audience, yes the audience, between Lucy and Louis. Vic had been so against this wedding that she didn't even want a full bridal party. The only person allowed in the actual wedding was Lily's mom, who would walk Teddy down the aisle because he had really wanted it and because bridezilla or not, Vic wouldn't dare take on Ginny Weasley when it came to her eldest son. "Hey Lou, your sister is a complete monster."

"Which one?"

"Today it's Vic. I don't know who pissed on her parade but she definitely killed my mood, brought it back to life, and killed it again."

"She's been like that ever since she got back from her honeymoon." He responded. "Don't try to make sense of it Lil, it's something about her being an adult and our parents not respecting her decisions. Unless you're Teddy you get nothing but scowls, yelling and rude comments."

There was little time to chat before a harp began playing. The doors to The Burrow opened revealing Teddy, who stood handsomely with their mother. The two of them walked down the aisle gracefully and Lily could tell her mum was fighting back tears. It was no surprise that her mom was sad, but the question is: what was she sad about? Lily wasn't sure if her mother was upset that Teddy was getting married or that he had technically gotten married already without telling her. Either way, she was all teary-eyed as Teddy kissed her on the cheek and continued the walk to the front of the garden.

When the doors opened the second time, Vic came forward like a picture of perfection. Even though Lily had fought hard against Vic wearing the blush colored gown, she had to admit that she looked amazing in it. It wasn't Lily's first choice to go with the ghastly blue, but her opinion had not been considered in the slightest. Perfect color or not, the dress was beautiful. The top had a strapless, sweetheart neckline with an intricately woven bodice. The skirt fell to the floor in long, beautiful waves, elongating her petite frame. She wore a pearl belt that matched her earrings and tiara, and carried a bouquet of blue roses that had some sentimental meaning to the pair. The bright, tacky flowers were another one of many aspects of today's ceremony Lily had fought against, but you'd be surprised at how little a say 12 year olds get in these matters.

Vic practically floated to meet Teddy and kissed him a little too passionately for Lily's taste. Most of the guests were whistling or laughing but Lily was pretty upset; she understood that Vic felt this was unnecessary but that didn't mean she had to make a joke of it. Weddings were supposed to be sweet and idyllic and her cousin was ruining it. Thankfully the officiant, none other than George Weasley, forced the two apart and began the ceremony. Lily had to admit it was pretty funny seeing her uncle all dressed up and reciting such beautiful, heartfelt passages. The lovely couple had refused a Ministry official, much to Ginny and Fleur's disliking, but Uncle George wasn't doing too bad of a job. The ceremony went by quicker than Lily expected and Vic had at least had the decency to get her act together during the reciting of the vows. She may have been annoying lately, but at least she was truly in love with Teddy. That was the most Lily could ask for.

When the variety show ended, Lily joined the rest of the "wedding" guests for the reception. Teddy and Vic had just finished their first dance and for the first time in a while, Victoire seemed like her old self. She was laughing and dancing and smiling, but that was all for Teddy. Lily sighed at new newlyweds and took in her surroundings. Dominique was sitting across from Lily at the table looking bored and Hugo was busy making all the adults laugh. Her brother, Fred and Louis were nowhere to be found, which was never good, and Al was on the dance floor with Lucy spinning her around endlessly. Scorpius was storming out of the reception, walking away from Rose who had clearly just won whatever argument they were having. As always.

"Hey Lily, Teddy wants you out on the dance floor." Molly said as she passed by with Chase.

"Well someone should tell him you can't have everything you want."

"Ummm, is everything alright?"

"Not even lose."

Molly raised her eyebrow curiously, but shrugged at her reply and Lily went back to her survey of the room. She had inherited the need to know where everyone was at all times from her father and James. Pretty much everyone was accounted for except Roxy, who was probably having her dress zipped by her boyfriend again. That left Lily, who was just sitting here. Brooding. It really wasn't her style; these were actions more reserved for Al or Fred, but she wasn't in the mood to be the life of the party when she honestly didn't support the cause of celebration.

Lily loved Teddy and Victoire with all of her heart. Their yelling and sucky attitudes would never change that fact, but she just didn't think they needed to be married. Not right now at least. If they really felt they were going to be together forever, Lily didn't understand why they couldn't wait to marry in three or four years when Vic was done with her Healer training and Teddy had gotten comfortable with his job. Maybe they hadn't realized it, but with him being a new teacher at Hogwarts and her training for one of the hardest professions in the Wizarding world, the first few years of their marriage weren't going to be all sunshine and rainbows.

"_And now the groom would like to share a dance with his little sister."_ The DJ boomed from his booth. Yes, of all the things Vic vetoed and added to the wedding list, a DJ was one of the deal-breakers. Lily's head jerked up at the sound of her name and she looked to her brother, who was smiling. Ugh, he was the worst. She plastered on her well-known smile and made her way to the dance floor. Once they were in the correct position he kissed her on the cheek and she had to resist the urge to scoff when the crowd let out an exaggerated 'aww.'

"I remember when you were little and you would beg and beg for me to dance with you. It didn't matter if other people were dancing or if there was music or not." He said as they swayed to the music. He was not going to butter her up with he's sappy big brother stories. "Now, I have to use a DJ just to get your attention at my own wedding."

"Well, I'm not little anymore and I was under the impression- actually I was _told_ by your lovely wife that this, in fact, was not a wedding."

"C'mon Lils, you're not mad about that are you? She was just being…"

"Bitchy." Lily offered.

"Ok maybe, but that's just because she's-"

"A bitch." She said with a smile. To anyone that wasn't within earshot of them it would seem like they were catching up and being their usual charming selves.

"That's my wife you're talking about." He answered through his teeth, keeping up appearances.

"I'm pretty bloody aware she's your wife. That's the whole point of today, isn't it?"

"My word, aren't you just turning 11? When did you get so…vulgar?"

"I don't know, let's see. It could have been during all that time you spent in America, or the day you ran off to Las Vegas to get eloped, or that brief period of time you spent hidden away with Vic in marital bliss, or my birthday when you-"

"Alright, I get it. I've been a pretty lousy brother."

"A pretty lousy brother who yelled at me earlier; don't think I forgot about that. Even James, in all his pratty glory, has never yelled at me."

"Wow, I'm worse than James? I really am sorry."

"How could you just leave like that and not tell us where you were or what you were doing? Don't you love us?" she asked, unable to stay mad at him. She let every bit of sadness and hurt she felt come through so he could see just how upset she was.

"We love you, all of you, but you have to understand that things are changing. You may not understand it now, but one day you'll be in love with someone and you'll want nothing more than to make that person happy. Vic wanted to get married right away, so we did. She didn't want to make a big deal of this wedding, so I didn't force her to. Whatever makes her happy, I'll do it."

"Even if it hurts your family in the process?"

"She _is_ my family now." Lily was trying to understand what Teddy was saying; she really was. But there was no way she could stand here and listen to him tell her that Victoire came first now. For years Teddy said that Lily was his favorite girl and he'd be there for her forever, and now his world revolved around Victoire. That was going to take a lot of getting used to. "But you're my sister and I love you; that won't change no matter what. Alright?"

"I think I'm going to go find James and Al." She said quickly. Before he could see her crying, Lily walked out to the garden and sat behind her favorite bushes. They were just the right height and at the right angle that you could only see her once you had literally stepped into her little space. It was a spot that Teddy had shown her when she was little.

She didn't understand why she was so upset with him; it really wasn't his fault that they were growing up. Being the youngest, she was an expert with change. She'd had to adjust to a lot of situations when you considered how many times they'd go back and forth between all of her family member's houses and all of the different cousins that had left for Hogwarts. That she could handle, but this marriage thing was a completely different adjustment. She'd better adjust soon because it was just a part of life that she'd have to get used to. One day the same thing was going to happen to James and Al and Hugo and she'd have to let them go. She wasn't always going to be the 'favorite girl' of her brother's or cousins, and one day they'd no longer be the guys she turned to for everything.

"Nice hiding spot." She heard a voice say from above her. She looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy leaning over the bush. "Mind if I join you?" The two of them had never really talked, but they had always been comfortable with each other since he was best friends with her brother. Instead of responding she scooted over so that there was room for him to join her in the little nook.

She didn't know why she was letting him here, into the spot she wouldn't share with anyone else, but she let him sit anyway. What could it hurt? Scorpius leaned back and rested in the grass with his hands behind his head and his eyes shut tight. Lily could see that he was still tense from whatever he and Rose had fought about by the way he sat so still. She had noticed over the years that whenever he was thinking really hard or was really upset, he would sit so still that he looked like a statue. Lily felt bad for him sometimes because these statue-like moments usually followed an argument with Rose. Rose had an…interesting personality that could be overbearing at times, and since Scorpius was her best friend, he usually got the bulk of it. Al got it a lot too, but since he'd known Rose all of her life he had no problem yelling back at her or telling her she was wrong, whereas Scorpius tended to let her dictate his every move. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand pick up a few strands of hair that were hanging from her bun.

"Your hair is _very _red." Scorpius said thoughtfully. If it hadn't been so random she would have stayed silent, but she could barely contain her laughter and it had made him laugh too.

"Wow, you really are as smart as they say."

"Well it is." he answered before closing his eyes again. His smile from their laughing slowly faded and the crease returned to his forehead. Whatever he and was upset about must be really bad.

"Everything ok?" she asked, "I saw you and Rose earlier…"

"I don't really want to talk about it." He said, still barely moving. Lily smiled at how peaceful he looked. For some reason she felt herself blushing and she thanked Merlin his eyes were closed.

"Alright." She answered, praying he'd not open his eyes while her face was still red. Another thing Lily had learned from being the youngest was not to take offense when people don't tell her things.

"You see how easy that was?" he asked. His eyes had opened wildly and he propped himself up on his elbows, startling Lily a bit. "I said I didn't want to talk about it and you were fine. It can't be like that with Rose; she has to know everything at all times whether or not you feel it's her business to know. It just gets so bloody frustrating."

"Well, that's Rose."

"Yeah. Well what brings you out here Red?"

"This whole wedding." She said frustrated. She swung her legs around and leaned back so that she was lying in the same position as Scorpius.

"Why do you say it like that? You didn't want them marrying?"

"I do; or at least I did. I mean I'm really happy for them, but I guess I'm just upset about how it all played out. The eloping and the secret honeymoon and the make-up ceremony are all just too much for me. I know my family has a reputation of being crazy, but this time it's gone to a whole different level."

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"It wasn't supposed to be." she said with a smile, even though she really hadn't found the ceremony amusing at all. Something about him was making her smile and because she couldn't figure it out it was making her uncomfortable.

"How was it supposed to be? This is the first wedding I've ever been to."

"Weddings are supposed to be romantic and magical, or at least that's what I've heard and seen in movies and stuff; this was my first wedding too. Maybe that stuff's just made up."

"Hmm, I don't believe that."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He said smiling, "I think marriage, with the right person and at the right time, is every bit as magical and romantic as you could imagine. Maybe for Vic and Teddy their first wedding was all of that and more."

"I guess you're right. Who knew you were such a romantic? I thought you'd think marriage was stupid like my brothers."

"Well, I don't know if you knew, but your brothers are idiots."

"Trust me, I know." She said before letting silence fall between them again. All of a sudden Lily really wanted to keep the conversation going before he came to his senses and realized he was having this conversation with his best friend's little sister and ran off. It was nice to have someone older talking to her and treating her as an equal, and she had to admit she liked the company. Lily didn't want him to leave yet so she just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"You should let me plan your wedding. In the future." _Really Lily? _His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her ridiculous statement.

"You want to plan my wedding? Why?" _Because I'm an idiot._

"I don't know, I think I'd be good at it. Plus I know Rose like the back of my hand, I bet I could get it all done without even asking what she wants, but I'm not an idiot so of course I'd ask her, just to save time."

"I'm marrying Rose?" he asked. Lily didn't know why she'd said it, but it caused him to open his eyes again and for some reason the thought of him marrying Rose made her feel extremely uncomfortable and from the look on his face she couldn't tell if he liked it either.

"I don't know, I just figured since you guys are best friends and usually that leads liking each other. But what do I know, I'm 12." She admitted. He closed his eyes again but this time the lines in his face relaxed.

"You seem wise for your years Lily. But then again I'm only 13 and three quarters so what do I honestly know?"

"13 and three quarters?"

"Every second counts." he joked. Thankfully they were off the subject of weddings and Rose. Scorpius obviously wasn't affected at all by it, but she was sweating bullets.

"Thanks for talking with me; I know we're not friends or anything, but it was nice."

"I'm wounded Red, all this time I had thought we _were_ friends." he said as he got up and dusted off his pants.

"Oh, I just assumed that-"

"You know what they say; when you assume you make an ass out of you and me." She rolled his eyes and laughed at his cheesy quote.

"Whatever you say Malfoy. Or should I say 'Scor' since we're friends now?"

"No, you don't have to call me Scor; actually I'd prefer if you didn't."

"You don't like it either?"

"It's about the equivalent of me calling you Li Li or something. But Rose likes it so…"

"What is up with you and her? Around everyone else you're all guarded, but you go soft when it comes to her. "

"I know she can be a bossy know it all, but she means a lot to me. She's my best friend and there's no telling what it'd be like if I hadn't met her in the park all those years ago. So I let her get away with telling me what to do, and correcting me when I talk, because-"

"You want to keep her happy?"

"Exactly, and I need to apologize for being short with her. See you around Red."

"Seeya Malfoy."

Maybe Teddy wasn't leaving her out his life completely. Maybe he was simply trying to make his wife happy. Scorpius put up with Rose's crazy and they were only friends (for now) so it had to be tough for Teddy to deal with that on top of a stressful job, an emotional mother, psychotic brothers and a whiny sister. Lily hadn't been making it any easier on him; the guy who'd changed her diapers and played with her for hours and protected her from thunderstorms and taught her to swim. He'd been there for all of that without question, making her happy even when she hadn't asked him to, and now it was time for him to show that same generous spirit to his wife. This was one of few times that she could have been there for her brother and she'd spent the entire day whining and sulking. He wasn't a bad brother for not including her in his decisions, she was a bad sister for not supporting the decisions he'd made.

After years of being the responsible, sensible ones in this crazy family, Teddy and Vic deserved to be happy, and she should be happy for them; not jealous or mad. Teddy loved her and she loved him and Victoire, so it was time for her to just let this little vendetta go. Even though, Vic _had _been positively awful today but Lily imagined that she would be mad if anyone forced her to do something she didn't want to. Lily wasn't used to being wrong but sucked up her pride and made her way back to the reception so she could apologize. Just this once.

* * *

><p><strong>A lot of you have requested the kids' ages. I'm going to do the main characters as well as the ones pivotal to the plot, and update you when they change. Bear in mind this is considering the wedding took place at the end of July, and some of them haven't had birthdays yet. Someone requested the names of the parents as well, but I'll only do that for ones whose parents you'd know. So…<strong>

**Young Adults****  
><strong>Teddy Lupin- 20; Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks  
>Victoire Weasley- 18; Bill Weasley &amp; Fleur Delacour<p>

**7th years**  
>Chase Finnegan (Gryffindor) 17; Seamus Finnegan &amp; Lavendar Brown<p>

**6****th**** years**  
>Molly Weasley (Gryffindor) 16; Percy Weasley &amp; Audrey Carrizales<br>Carson Bennett (Ravenclaw)16  
>Lex Alvarez (Gryffindor)16<br>Madison Harrington (Gryffindor) 16  
>Grayson Goyle (Slytherin) 16<p>

**5th years**  
>Roxanne 'Roxy' Weasley (Gryffindor) 15; George Weasley &amp; Angelina Johnson<p>

**4th years**  
>James Potter -14; Harry Potter &amp; Ginny Weasley<br>Dominique Weasley-14; Bill Weasley & Fleur Delacour  
>Fred Weasley -13; George Weasley &amp; Angelina Johnson<br>Carter Thomas- 14; Dean Thomas & Parvati Patil  
>Linden "Love" Nott-13; Theodore Nott &amp; Daphne Greengrass<br>Zack Longbottom-14; Neville Longbottom & Hannah Abbott  
>Hollis Yates-13<p>

**3rd years**  
>Albus Potter -13; Harry Potter &amp; Ginny Weasley<br>Rose Weasley-13; Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger  
>Scorpius Malfoy-13; Draco Malfoy &amp; Astoria Geengrass<br>Reid Longbottom- 13; Hannah Abbott & Neville Longbottom

**1st years  
><strong>Louis Weasley-11; Bill Weasley & Fleur Delacour  
>Hugo Weasley-11; Ron Weasley &amp; Hermione Granger<br>Lily Potter-11; Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley  
>Lucy Weasley-11; Percy Weasley &amp; Audrey Carrizales<br>Chance Finnegan- 13; Seamus Finnegan & Lavendar Brown**  
><strong>Lysander Scamander-11; Rolf Scamander & Luna Lovegood  
>Lorcan Scamander-11; Rolf Scamander &amp;Luna Lovegood<p>

Hope this helps!

**-Jazz**


	2. Here I Am

"They tell you a good girl is quiet  
>And that you should never ask why<br>'Cause it only makes it harder to fit in  
>You should be happy, excited<br>Even if you're just invited  
>'Cause the winners need<br>Someone to clap for them  
>It's so hard, just waiting<br>In a line that never moves  
>It's time you started making<br>Your own rules"  
>-Honestly, I'm not really sure<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Lucy had been waiting for this day for as long as she could remember. Today was the day that she was going to get her Hogwarts letter, and she couldn't be more excited even if she had written and sent the letter herself. It was finally her turn to go to the most magical place in the world. Teddy had once told her that Disney World was the most magical place in the world, but Lucy would bet anything that it didn't hold a candle to Hogwarts. She was all ready to go get her letter, the only problem was that Lily, Louis and Hugo were still sleeping like today wasn't going to be life-changing. Part of her wanted to just let them sleep, but she knew their letters would be arriving any minute and the three of them were slow movers. She went to Louis first, because he was the tamest._

_"Lou Lou darling," she whispered into his hear, trying to wake him up in the way Victoire probably would, "wakey wakey!" He didn't wake up fully, but she did get a pillow in the face. _

_"Don't ever call me that again." he responded, before his voice was replaced with his soft snoring. Well, that didn't work. She would go get James of Fred, but they'd probably take her request to wake these guys up as an invitation to prank them mercilessly and she didn't want that on her conscious._

"_Hey! Wake up!" she yelled, to no response. She tried stomping up and down, shaking their beds, and tickling their feet, but none of them budged. There was only one thing that would get these three out of bed. "Breakfast is ready!" she called. At these words Lily and Louis lifted their heads eagerly while Hugo jumped out from under his covers ready to go. "Pathetic! You lot are truly pathetic."_

"_What time is it?" Lily asked sleepily._

"_8."_

"_In the morning? Are you crazy?"_

_"Is her name Lucy?" Louis mumbled._

"_Yes, I actually am crazy. I'm crazy excited about today and you all should be too! Today we get our Hogwarts letters!" She had expected them to suddenly find their maddening anticipation for today's events, but they only stared at her blankly. "Aren't you guys excited?"_

_"Where's that breakfast you were talking about?" Louis answered._

"_How could you not be excited? " she asked. This truly made no sense to her. She knew she had a reputation for being hyper and overly emotional about everything, which was the exact opposite of Louis, but this was kind of a big deal._

"_Everyone gets letters Luce, it's not that big of a deal." That was a perfect example of how she and Louis were polar opposites. She was always excited about everything and he was passive aggressive about everything. If it wasn't about soccer it didn't peak his interest._

"_Everyone does not get letters. What about squibs?" she asked._

"_None of us are squibs. You do remember the incident at Chuck E. Cheese when we went to Florida that summer? " Hugo stated with a laugh. How could anyone forget that fiasco? An older kid had pushed Hugo down in the ball pit and the four of them had sent every single ball flying around the building. It had taken weeks for their Uncles and Father to clean that one up. "Is there really no breakfast? I'm starving."_

"_There's food downst-" Lucy couldn't even get out her sentence because her three best friends had trampled out of the room and down the stairs. Seriously, sometimes Lucy felt like she didn't really belong. She definitely looked like a Weasley, but she didn't act like one. She didn't have their vigorous, mildly disgusting appetites, or sense of humor; she found Quidditch and Football pointless, and she wasn't an attention-seeker or a loner. Lucy sort of fell in the middle of all the extremes in the family; she marched to the beat of her own drummer and did things her own way. She resented people like Fred, who complained about not standing out because all she wanted to do was fit in. She tried to shake away these feelings as she made her way to the kitchen. The rest of the family must have come that morning because everyone else was there, scoffing down eggs and sausages smothered in absurd amounts of ketchup._

"_Good morning everyone!" she chirped. The people who responded had their mouths full, so she wasn't quite sure what they'd said, and the others were too interested in their plates to answer._

"_Lucy, what would you like for breakfast?" her Grandmother asked._

"_Could I have fruit salad and orange juice?"_

"_Coming right up dear." She answered sadly. The elder Molly still hadn't gotten over Lucy's vegetarian ways, but she usually made the accommodations even though she thought Lucy was going to waste away if she didn't eat meat. Lucy used to like sausage and beef and all kinds of meat, but now she couldn't stand the sight of it. When she was little, she used to watch the movie Babe over and over again until she would fall asleep. She loved the movie so much that she even began calling their cat Babe. It wasn't until James revealed to her that sausages were made from pigs like Babe, that she thought of the adorable little pig and her family's cat whenever meat was around. What kind of monster could eat their cat? Not Lucy._ _She dug into her fruit salad and had forgotten all about her Hogwarts letter until she heard a familiar pecking on the window. _

_"They're here." she said calmly, trying not to seem too eager in front of the older kids. Victoire went to the window and retrieved a handful of letters before giving the owl a treat. Vic went around the table and as letters began to open, people started revealing special achievements they'd made._

"_I've been made Prefect!"_

"_Quiddtich Captain? Yes!"_

"_Oh my god, I didn't fail my O.W.L's!"_

_Lucy was busy congratulating Roxy, James and Molly; temporarily distracted until she saw Vic taking her seat again. Clearly there was a problem. "Vic, you forgot to give me my letter."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry Lucy. I handed out all the ones I had, I guess there wasn't one in the pile for you."_

"_It... probably just got delayed." Lucy reassured to herself mostly. Either it was delayed, or someone who knew how excited she was had played a trick on her. Whichever the reason, now would be a good time to say so. Everyone had gone quiet, waiting to see if a letter would come and Lucy almost jumped out of her seat when there was another tap on the window. "See, here it is."_

_Again, Vic went to the window, but a beautiful black owl that Lucy had never seen before refused her treat and fluttered away dramatically. Odder than that, was the seal on the letter that Vic handed her. It was as black as the owl that delivered it and was embossed with silver designs around the letters W.A.D.A. She was pretty sure everyone had noticed it too, because they were all watching her anxiously. She broke the seal and opened the letter, reading words she'd never expected to see._

"_Well go on Luce," Lily encouraged, "Read it aloud."_ _Lucy looked around the table before clearing her throat:_

_**Lucy Nicole Weasley,**_

_**I am pleased to inform you of your acceptance into the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts. You, along with 14 others, have been accepted into the rigorous program, where you will be given all of the tools necessary to cultivate your magical abilities as well as shape who you are as an artist. Here at WADA, we believe that every student has a gift and believe that you have what it takes to progress into a beautiful, talented young lady. Enclosed you will find more information about our program and campus, as well as everything you will need in the Fall.**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Herbert Beery**_

* * *

><p>Lucy felt odd. Granted, she always knew she was different, but as she stood here on the steps of WADA, she felt more out of place than ever. It was just her luck that her school and Hogwarts started on the same day, so she wasn't able to see her cousins off and they weren't able to come see her either. After they all found out she'd been chosen to go to another school, she was surprised at the lack of anger or disappointment from her family. Everyone congratulated her and told her how well she was going to do there, except for her father who only kissed her on the cheek and left. Louis, who was like her best friend, was the only one that seemed put off about the whole thing. Everyone else just acted like it wasn't a big deal that she was the first Weasley ever to not go to Hogwarts. Her plan was to just hate this school, then they might send her away and she'd have to go to Hogwarts.<p>

Since WADA was located in London, she wouldn't have a fancy train ride to take her to the campus. It was just her and her mother there, because her father had claimed to have a meeting that he couldn't get out of. Truthfully, Lucy felt like he'd been avoiding her lately, but she had no clue why. Lucy specifically remembered her dad taking about a week off for Molly's first day, but he all of a sudden had gotten really busy at work. Lucy liked to see the best in people, so she was just going to believe that he was busy for now. She put all thoughts of her father aside as she and her mother walked through the halls, that were unbelievably beautiful. Everything looked Gothic and dark, but it was modernly decorated with rich, deep purples and silvers. Lily would die if she saw the way this place was decorated. As she walked by, she could see little rooms on either side of her where some of the older students were already practicing instruments, dances, songs, and monologues. Although Lucy's original plan was to protest every part of this school, what she was seeing wasn't as bad as she'd thought. It was kind of cool that everyone was doing their own thing and perfecting what they were good at, and not just sticking to the same curriculum as everyone else.

They came to a large black door with a sign that read 'First Year Orientation'. Lucy opened the door timidly and walked up to the podium where they were supposed to check in. "Name, please." said a lady dressed in a velvety outfit that reminded Lucy of a kaleidoscope.

"Weasley. Lucy Weasley."

"Ah, perfect. Mrs. Weasley, why don't you say a quick goodbye so we can get Lucy set up with the others. The orientation will be starting soon." Lucy turned to her mother and had to step on her own foot so she wouldn't start crying. She hadn't expected this to be so sad. She'd expected to be going to Hogwarts with her cousins and say tearful goodbyes on Platform 9 ¾, then have Lily, Louis and Hugo there to cheer her up on the way to the castle. By now they'd be halfway to Hogwarts, but instead she was here, alone, and it was going to be that way for the next 7 years.

"Bye mum, I'm going to miss you. Are you going to miss me?" she felt really stupid for asking, but she needed to hear it out loud from somebody.

"Oh sweetie, I'm going to miss you with every fiber in my body. Your father will miss you too."

"Doesn't seem like it. He's not even here with us. Even Molly tried to come but she couldn't, I didn't even see dad this morning." Her mom made that face where she was trying to hide exactly what she was thinking.

"He will miss you and he wanted to see you off, he was just...busy today. So make sure to write me once you get settled in. Don't leave out any details, I want to know everything! Just like when we have girl talk at home ok?" she said as she began tearing up.

"Don't cry mum, I'm still pretty close to home."

"I know, I know, I'm just going to miss you. Don't forget to try your hardest and always do your best; I know you're going to be great!"

"You really think so?"

"I do. You wouldn't have been accepted if you didn't have the potential to be great. Don't forget that."

She hugged her mom one last time and headed toward the other students before she could change her mind about this whole thing and stay at home with her parents. Lucy tip toed to the only open seat, between two girls that looked just as shy as she was. That was good.

"Hello everyone." A man said suddenly. He was an older man with thick glasses and long black hair. He sort of reminded Lucy of a cartoon character, and he spoke clearly and dramatically. "My name is Herbert Beery, Headmaster of the School of Dramatic Arts. I will be here as you all embark on a life-changing journey and tap into your talents. Now, let's get started with our first class." Class already? Sheesh. "When I call your name I want you to stand and tell us your name and what you would like your concentration to be."

"I'm sorry," the girl next to her interrupted. "What concentration?"

"Ah, of course. As you were told in your acceptance letters, you will be learning magic as well as training in one of our Arts concentrations. During your first two years you will train in all of the classes, but upon your third year you must choose to solely focus on Dance, Theater, or Music, which includes instrumental and vocal."

"What about the Triple Threats professor?" a girl with an extremely pointy nose, that she held high in the air, asked. She'd only spoken 6 words and Lucy could tell they weren't going to get along.

"Right! Thank you Miss-"

"Addison Bradley, sir. Daughter of playwright, Veronica Bradley, and director, Solomon Bradley." If Lucy's family thought she was dramatic, they'd be tickled by this girl.

"Yes Miss Bradley, those students who prove to have what it takes may be chosen to participate in the Triple Threat program, which will require had work and determination as you will be forced to complete the work of three students in the time of one." Yeah, that didn't sound like something Lucy would be doing at all. She couldn't think of one thing she was good at, let alone three. "First up, Elizabeth Andrews."

Lucy watched timidly as one by one, the students introduced themselves. Everyone pretty much seemed nervous, but at least they knew what they wanted to do. Lucy had no clue what she was going to say; this was an activity better suited for Rose or James. Thinking of them reminded her again that she was alone here. Lily and the others were probably being sorted into Gryffindor now, because they were all so very Gryffindor. Lucy always imagined that she would have been sorted into Hufflepuff and be on her own there. She laughed to herself as she remembered that had been a fear of hers; that she would be sorted into Hufflepuff while everyone else was sorted into Gryffindor. But she would rather be a Hufflepuff than to not have been accepted to Hogwarts at all.

"Lorcan Scamander." The professor called. At the sound of her old friends name, Lucy sat up a little straighter in her chair. Lorcan was one of their Aunt Luna's sons. She wasn't really their Aunt, but they called her that because they saw her so often. Lorcan, and his twin brother Lysander, used to come to The Burrow all of the time, but when their parents got divorced Lorcan moved to Argentina with his father to search for things that more than likely don't exist. Lucy didn't see Lysander here, but that was no surprise. The two of them couldn't be any different. Where Lorcan was silent and independent, Lysander tended to hang with the crowd and do whatever was necessary to fit in. James was his biggest role model, so naturally he had acquired some of James' less attractive mannerisms like teasing and knocking others down to feel better about himself. As a child, Lucy had secretly wished that Lysander was the one that went away to Argentina, because he was a pain in the ass compared to Lorcan, who was kind to everyone- even the people who called him weird or strange. Yes, Lorcan was odd, and she didn't know he had any interest in the arts, but then again neither had she. "Go on Mr. Scamander."

"My name is Lorcan Scamander, and one thing you should know about me is that I love animals. Real ones." Lucy laughed at his joke, making the other students look at her suspiciously. They wouldn't understand it because they didn't know what his parents do for a living. "I've always loved playing instruments, so I think I'd be best in the Music Concentration."

"What do you play?" the professor asked. _Good question._

"My favorite is the drums, but I can also play the piano, guitar, ukulele, cello and harmonica." He listed off all of his talents like he was just sharing his grocery list with the class. It was clear why he was here; he was obviously some kind of musical prodigy.

"Excellent Mr. Scamander. Next, we'll hear from Lucy…Weasley?" _Bloody hell._ Why'd he have to say her name like that?Lucy's first reaction was to pretend that there was no one here with that name and whisper like everyone else, but Lorcan whipped his head in her direction at the recognition of her name. Everyone followed his line of sight and stared at Lucy expectantly. These people were so shocked that she was a Weasley; everyone but Addison Bradley. It was clear that she didn't like it one bit, especially since no one had been too interested in her parents. It wasn't until Lorcan smiled and nodded that she even remembered she was supposed to speak. Now she'd probably be known as the girl who didn't recognize her own name.

"My name is Lucy Weasley. Um, one thing you should know about me is that- I um, uhh-

"You're a Weasley; we already know you." the annoying girl teased. Old Lucy would h ve cried, but these people didn't know her. She swallowed her embarassment and continued as if it hadn't bothered her.

"Miss Bradley!" the teacher warned. "Go on Lucy."

"I'm a vegetarian." She finished. "I have no idea what concentration I'd like, I mean, I don't even really know why I'm here."

"Well do you dance?"

"I've taken ballet since I was 3, but I wouldn't say I'm mad about it."

"Have you ever acted?"

"Well, I've done plays at my Muggle primary school, but they weren't huge productions or anything."

"What about music?" Honestly, no other student had been grilled this way and Lucy was getting really embarrassed because the more she talked, the more she realized she had no talent and absolutely no business being here. "Can you sing?"

"Um, I'm not sure." She answered honestly. How do you measure you singing anyway?

"Well, why don't you sing us something."

"Right now?" she practically screamed, causing most of the student to laugh. This was a nightmare.

"There's no time like the present Miss Weasley." Lucy merely stared at this insane man until she was sure that he was not kidding. He definitely wasn't. She was about to literally run out of the room until she heard Addison's annoying voice.

"Your surname won't help you here Weasley, you actually have to have talent." Lucy silently thanked the snobby girl, because if it weren't for her snide comment she wouldn't have to prove this idiot wrong in front of all of their classmates. She wasn't here for nothing and she didn't use her surname to get here. They had sought her out; she was meant to be here. Lucy took one more deep breath before singing:

"_I heard that you settled down  
>That you found a girl and you're married now<br>I heard that you dreams came true  
>Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you<em>

_Old friend why are you so shy?  
>It ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light<em>

_I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited_  
><em>But I couldn't stay away I couldn't fight it<em>  
><em>I had hoped you'd see my face<em>  
><em>And that you'd be reminded that for me it isn't over<em>

_Never mind I'll find someone like you_  
><em>I wish nothing but the best for you two<em>  
><em>Don't forget me I beg, I remember you said<em>  
><em>Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."<em>

Lucy figured she should stop there, because everyone in the room was staring at her with their mouths open, and even some other people in the building had peeked their heads in to hear. Was she that bad? She knew she wasn't an opera singer, but it couldn't have been that bad could it? She looked to Lorcan and raised an eyebrow, hoping he'd catch her silent question. She got her answer in the form of applause. People were actually clapping for her...and it wasn't a joke.

"Well Mrs. Weasley; I dare say you just figured out why you're here, though I'd venture to say there's even more in you than you think. What a great way to wrap up our introductions? Well done class; use the rest of the day to get situated in your dormitories and become familiar with the grounds. We'll meet in this same room first thing in the morning for our first real lesson."

Everyone began grabbing their things and leaving except for Addison, who still hadn't closed her mouth. "I think we got off on the wrong foot." Lucy said offering her hand for a handshake.

"Listen up, Weasley. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to become a star. Nobody is going to get in the way of that. Got it?" the girl stormed off quickly and Lucy was praying that they wouldn't be roommates, because she knew that could only end badly. Lucy headed toward the dorms and heard a pair of feet behind her trying to catch up.

"Lucy?" Lorcan asked shyly, as if they'd never met before. She'd never been accused of being shy, so it wasn't a surprised when she hugged him and jumped up and down excitedly.

"It's so good to see you Lorcan! It's been a while; and I'm relieved to see at least one familiar face. I take it Lysander's at Hogwarts."

"Yeah. He's thrilled that we won't be going to school together."

"You're the one that should be thrilled. Your brother is the worst."

"He can be a bit much, but he means well. So, I didn't know you were a singer."

"Yeah, neither did I. But more importantly, I didn't know you played every instrument ever made."

"When you spend all of your time searching for the nonexistent you have to find a way to entertain yourself. Once I got the hang of one, I'd just move on to another." They walked in silence as they made their way from the Concert Hall to the dormitories. Since the school only accepted a certain amount students, they had all been given a private tour of the facilities beforehand, and they already knew their way around. Lorcan walked with her all the way to the girls' dorms before going his own way. One big difference between here and Hogwarts was that WADA was a lot more modern. Rather than entering the dorms with a password, they simply had to stick their wand in the wand reader and it could identify them. That was pretty cool. Another plus to the modern building was the elevators. She rode it to the third floor and stepped out, suddenly feeling exhausted. People were getting ready for bed and most of them were humming or playing instruments quietly. Lucy could get used to the sound of music 24/7.

She opened the door to her room, praying she wouldn't find Addison in there. Luckily it was one of the nicer girls, Claire Lune. It was nice to only have one roommate, whereas she'd have 4 others at Hogwarts. "Hey, you're Claire right?"

"Lucy! I thought for a second I was going to be rooming with that Addison girl. She's a nightmare. You were brilliant today by the way."

"Thanks; I was so nervous I could have peed my pants." She confessed. That whole scenario with the singing could have gone in a completely different direction.

"I can imagine! Oh, you've got like a million letters waiting for you." Lucy looked on her dresser and saw at least 10 envelopes waiting for her. She smiled, knowing they were from her family (not including her father) and it was relieving to know they mostly hadn't forgotten about her. The first one she opened was from Lily:

**Hey Lucy Goosie!**

**Hogwarts is absolutely amazing! Everything they said about the feast and the hat and the moving staircases was true! We all got in Gryffindor of course, but the hat was considering putting me in Ravenclaw…gah! Can you imagine? I'd be wandering around the halls every night for seven years because I wouldn't be able to answer the question and get in the Common Room. That actually might have been pretty funny. Hugo swears he almost went Slytherin, but no one believes him. Our Huey? A Slytherin? No way! But enough about us... I hope you're liking your school, but is it completely selfish of me to wish you were here? I do! You know all about Hogwarts so tell me everything about WADA! Are the people nice? Do you like it? I'm going to go crazy waiting for your owl so write back ASAP! Miss you already!**

**-Willy Nilly Lily**

**P.S. Hugo and Louis are writing a joint letter and they are struggling with how to say they miss you without **_**actually**_** saying they miss you. So, what all that chicken scratch means is they miss you lol K, Bye!**

Lucy pouted a little as she finished the letter. Lily was like her sister and it was going to be weird communicating through letters all of the time. Lucy opened the next letter that was barely legible but she recognized it right away.

**Lucy Goose!**

**It's Louis, writing for me and Hugo. Just wanna say hey and good luck at your school. Hugo wants me to say he really did almost get in Slytherin. (He didn't.) That's all. See you at Christmas!**

**-Lou and Hue**

Lucy didn't want to get all emotional, so she decided to reply to her best friends now, then wake up early in the morning to read the rest and reply to everyone else. She took out parchment and a Quill and began writing.

**To my three favorite people,**

**You guys don't even know how much I've missed you already (Is it that hard to say boys?). Has it really only been a few hours? I'm so glad Hogwarts is living up to our standards and I really wish I was there, but I actually think I'm going to like it here. The building isn't as grand as Hogwarts, but it's really nice! As far as the people go...we'll have to see. I only have one roommate; her name is Clair Day Lune, like the song! How cool is that? Her parents are big time composers so naturally she composes too. There's an evil wench named Addison that clearly hates me. (I know you're thinking 'who could hate Lucy?'...this girl does) She made it very clear that she was amazing at everything but had nothing to say after I sang. Oh yeah, apparently I can sing (who knew?). And Lorcan is here! He plays about 10,000 instruments. No big deal. I don't know how or why, but I think things are finally starting to fall into place for me. Still no word from my father, should I be worried? Ok, I'll stop rambling now, but can we agree to write each other every week? I think that'd be good.**

**Love you all!**

**-Lucy the Goosie**

**P.S. I believe you Hugo**

She finished the letter and smiled; any doubts about them not being able to stay friends had vanished. They were the dream team and nothing was going to tear them apart. She put her hair up in a ponytail and turned out her lamp before snuggling under the covers. This wasn't going to be as bad as she thought; maybe, like her mother had told her before, it was going to be great.

* * *

><p><strong>First chapter from Lucy! What did you guys think of her? Is it awful that she's not going to Hogwarts, or do you think a new school will be interesting? Let me know in a review! Thanks to everyone that reviewed the first chapter, I got really good feedback about Lily which is awesome! Now I'm rambling.<strong>

**-Jazz**


	3. Wild At Heart

**Warning for the kiddies and the fun police: This chapter contains references to underage drinking...because it happens**

* * *

><p>"That rebel moon is shining'<br>Those stars burn like diamonds  
>Hell bent on chasing down that crazy slide<br>I'll follow you where you're leading  
>To the first sweet taste of freedom<br>You got me runnin' baby,  
>Wild at heart"<p>

-Gloriana

* * *

><p><strong><em>Flashback<em>**

_The honeymoon period was definitely over for Molly and Chase. Like, way over. After kicking her off of the Quidditch team last year, it seemed like they couldn't stop fighting. She'd barely heard from him over the summer and had to literally drag him from his house to go to Vic and Teddy's wedding. Since Roxy and Lex's relationship was still so new and cute, it made Molly and Chase look like they'd been married for years. They fought over the dumbest things and he was completely frustrating. It also hadn't helped that he'd somehow had his Captain position taken by James. How that had happened Molly would never figure out, but because of it Chase had decided to go 10 times as hard when it came to pretty much everything. He was always on edge, and moody, and really particular about every little thing. It was only the second day of school and he was complaining about his grades and driving her crazy. He had to be everywhere on time, do his homework weeks in advance so he could look over it 30 times, and if he wasn't practicing Quidditch or micro managing his own life he was telling her what to do. _

_She was always too loud or "being immature" or doing something the wrong way. She'd taken to spending the weekend with her friends and Roxy just to avoid having him bother her. It was a dizzying cycle that usually started with him annoying her, her going to have fun with her friends, him getting jealous, her apologizing, and them making up. Over and over again. The weird cycle they had fallen into had made her short tempered and hostile when it came to him. Roxy always said they reminded her of their Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, and Molly had to agree; one minute they were fighting and threatening to hex each other and the next they were expressing their feelings towards each other in other- more physical ways. Unfortunately, their latest problem had cut down on the amount of time they had for extracurricular intimate activities; but she'd stop having sex with Chase forever if it would make him realize he was being such an insufferable git. _

_This time they weren't even fighting over Quidditch or parties as usual. The problem today was that her stupid Life Skills teacher had assigned them the 'baby project.' The point was for them to be paired up and be assigned a fake baby, then take care of it and stuff as if they were married. It was a really stressful thing, considering each family was thrown a different problem each week for them to figure out and work out as a family. Since it was a class for all sixth years she could have been paired up with anyone, and it just so happened that she was paired up with Carson. Molly was glad she was paired up with a friend, but he and Chase didn't really get along. More specifically, Chase was jealous of their friendship whereas Carson didn't give a flying Snitch about Chase, aside from the random comments about Chase being wrong for her every now and then. This was why she hadn't told Chase about the project in the first place; and because they really didn't talk much about school. She wasn't hiding anything; she was just saving herself from an argument later. So of course when Chase overheard her and Carson talking about babies and bills and houses, he had sort of gotten the wrong idea and flipped out. _

_So that's how she got here; being yelled at by her extremely annoying and hot headed boyfriend. Boy did she miss the days when he was scarily quiet and shy around her. Chase really took after his father when he was mad getting loud and crazy and waving his hands all over the place and stuff. It really got her riled up and then they just fed off of each other's anger until someone said something that took the fight too far; it generally never ended well. "Molly, are you even listening to me? Jesus, can you pay attention to anything but yourself for once?"_

"_I'm sorry, I thought my not listening was just another flaw that you loved?" she said in a sweet and sarcastic voice, remembering how corny he used to be. "Will you calm down; this is not that big of a deal!"_

"_Not a big deal? You're practically pretending to be married to a guy that's in love with you! "_

"_Carson does not love me. You need to get over whatever issue you have with him. I say we drop it; It's just a stupid project for class."_

"_Could you please tell me the logical point of this project; because I'm obviously missing it." _What_ did he want, a freaking lesson plan?_

"_I don't know Chase, I'm not a bloody teacher. It's supposed to prepare us for the real world or something and show us how to deal with marriage and kids and stuff."_

"_I doubt that. You with a child seems highly unrealistic; all you want to do is party and get drunk on the weekends."_

"_So what? I can do whatever the hell I want! If I want to go to a party I can and if I wanted to have kids, which I don't, I would. However, maybe I would be spending my weekends a little more productively if someone hadn't kicked me off the fucking Quidditch Team." She honestly didn't care about that anymore but still-_

"_That happened a year ago! And why do you have to use foul language so much?"_

"_Because I can! Why do you have such an opposition to having fun?"_

"_I don't, I just don't view fun the same way as you. You call stumbling around the castle, inebriated and incoherent, with your friends fun? It's ridiculous Molly; maybe you're just too wild!_

_"Wild?"_

_"Yes! You trance all over the school like you own the place; partying and doing whatever you want all the time along with your merry band of idiots you call friends. The only person out of the lot of you with any sense is Madison!"_

_"And yet, I'm your girlfriend. Not Madison. Clearly you prefer a girl that knows how to have fun."_

_"I'd hardly call what you do 'fun', self destructive is a better word."_

_"I'm self destructive?" she asked with a laugh, "Says the guy that flips out if his socks aren't ironed properly. Who irons their socks? My grandfather doesn't even do that."_

_"It's called organization."_

_"It's called schizophrenia."_

_"Whatever. I thought you'd changed but clearly you haven't."_

"_You can't change me Chase! You can't mold me into your perfect little wife no matter how hard you try. I'm seventeen; I like to have a good time. Don't you get that? It's like you're an old man stuck in an 18 year olds body. It's so damn boring."_

_"I'm not trying to change you."_

_"Yes you are. Every time you tell me to not use foul language, or mind my manners, or dress more appropriately, it's you trying to make me into the perfect girlfriend and I'm never going to be that. It's like you're my dad, not my boyfriend." She had been holding that in for 3 long years and it felt orgasmic to finally say that out loud._

"_Oh, is that what you think?" he asked, clearly run out of things to yell at her about._

"_That's what I said."_

"_Then why don't we just break up? I can't be such a controlling bore if we're not together anymore." Whoa, she didn't have a comeback for that one. They had gotten pretty mad at each other before but he had never threatened to break up with her. She didn't know why the thought of him breaking up with her made her so upset; she had basically just told him they were completely wrong for each other._

"_If…if that's what you want. Is that what you want?" she asked nervously._

"_No. That's not what I want."_

"_How did we get like this?" she asked "It used to be so easy."_

"_I don't know. We've both grown up a lot since we first started dating."_

"_Almost three years ago. I was in such a pissy mood that day you asked me out; I think I snapped at you at least twice just before the game." He chuckled at the memory._

"_I remember that. You made me so nervous; I hardly got up the courage to speak to you again. And my cheesy sign; I was positive you were going to say no."_

"_It wasn't cheesy; it was thoughtful. I was so shocked that Vic had to tell me you were talking to me."_

"_I'm sorry I said all that stuff before about you not being a likely mother and saying we should break up. I just get so angry."_

"_It's ok, I'm sorry too. I don't think before I speak and say ridiculous things that I know will piss you off. I hate fighting, let's just not fight anymore ok?"_

"_Ok. Thank you for making this an amazing 3 years Molly."_

"_Thank you for putting up with me for 3 years." They snuggled on the sofa and Molly hoped they'd never fight again; even if making up was so fun._

* * *

><p>They were sitting in the common room in complete silence, aside from the occasional laugh or something from Lily or Louis. Molly was in the big arm chair and Chase was taking her usual place on the floor, resting up against her legs. The other students were celebrating something in Ravenclaw Tower for the beginning of the school year, but Molly thought they needed some alone time to reconnect. Plus, he was always getting on her case about going to parties anyway, so tonight they were going to stay in. They had fought and made up so many times over the past few months that she figured they could use a little time every now and then just for them. She hadn't exactly told Chase this, but she figured he'd catch on.<p>

"What are you thinking about?" Chase asked. "You're suspiciously quiet."

"I was just daydreaming; nothing serious."

"Oh, well do you want to go to that party or stay in tonight?" he asked. There was a strange amount of excitement dripping from that sentence and Molly had to replay it in her head to make sure they were talking about a party and not a Quidditch game.

"I'd rather stay in." she said quickly, noticing his face fall at her suggestion. "But... we can do whichever you want." They sat in silence for another ten minutes before he brought it up again.

"It's supposed to be a pretty big party; I hear there's going to be a bunch of people there tonight." he said. She reached down and placed a hand over his forehead, just checking to see if he had a fever or something, and he began laughing. "I feel fine; I just kind of want to get out of the common room tonight." So the guy who said she was too wild wanted to go to a party. How ironic. But she wasn't up for it tonight and he wasn't any fun at parties anyway. He just stood around and got all moody when she wanted to dance or do anything close to fun.

"A bunch of people just means a bunch of drama, but if you really want to go I'll go." She would really rather stay in and talk or cuddle or something but if it was going to avoid a fight she would go.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to go."

"So you're going..."

"I don't know yet Molly, but if I do end up going I'm saying you don't have to come." Now she was the clingy one? Ha!

"Then go, Chase. I'm pretty sure I can handle being a part from you for one night." she said, barely holding onto her calm tone. How many times would she have to say it, and why did he want to go to this party so badly?

"So you want me to stay?" he asked.

"That's the complete opposite of what I said."

"Well sometimes you say things but mean the opposite, and don't tell me what you really meant until after I've done what you didn't want me to do."

"Huh? This isn't some kind of riddle or trap or game. If you want to go, go; there's absolutely nothing stopping you."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I personally don't see why you want to go so badly, but you go have fun and I'll stay here. There's nothing wrong with spending some time apart...maybe that's our problem." she added on thoughtfully.

"So we have a problem now?" he was so god damned sensitive. Picking out every freaking thing she said and twisting it up like that; it was so frustrating!

"Chase, I don't want to fight with you about this; it's a party."

"We're not fighting."

"Okay, I'm not going to fight with you about whether or not we're fighting either." She had wanted them to spend the night together just 5 minutes ago, but he was pushing her to not want to be near him at all.

"Whatever Molly, are we going or not?" he spat rudely. She had been trying really hard not to go here, but he left her no choice.

"Are you suddenly hard of hearing? I already told you I'd rather stay in! Do I need to say it in another language? Voglio restare a stasera; you can do whatever the hell you want!"

"Fine!"

"Fine." They sat there for a few minutes longer, stewing in their anger before Chase got up and headed for the door. Before opening it he turned back and looked at her sadly, but then shook his head and continued out the rest of the way_. What the hell was that? _"Have fun at your stupid party!" she yelled even though she knew he couldn't hear her. He was going to go mad when he got around the loud music, and people touching, and inappropriate outfits.

He had completely ruined her mood and broken their 5 day streak of not arguing. Technically she had started it, but he had instigated and gotten her all upset so it was his fault. All she'd wanted was a nice night alone with him, but he had to make everything so complicated. She tried to continue reading her magazine but everything in it reminded her of him. She was positive that if she stayed in the dorms practically alone, she would certainly only get angrier so she did what anyone else would have done; she went to the party. She raced up to her room to put on a mini skirt and a cropped t-shirt that had been cut at the bottom to make fringe. She added a black leather vest and the highest pair of heels she could find, and after doing some quick make-up she decided to just let her curls fall around her wildly. She thought she looked like one of those models from muggle magazines, which was perfect. Only she and Roxy could pull off the Muggle look well, because they had grown up with them and always saw them on vacations. Molly particularly loved getting ideas from Teen Vogue magazine, and all the girls at Hogwarts, except the muggleborns, thought it was really unique and original.

She looked to her owl Kenji for approval on her outfit and when he flapped his wings vigorously she took that as a thumbs up. She gave Kenji a treat and took a few swigs of liquid courage. As she left the common room she imagined the look on Chases face when she found him sulking in the corner or berating other students for drinking or something. It was going to be priceless. The moving staircase gods must have been on her side because it took her less than five minutes to make the walk to the other side of the castle. As she made her way to the Ravenclaw common room she wasn't sure if when she saw Chase she should yell at him or ignore him; but she knew he was about to pay for being such a jerk earlier.

She walked inside with the intent of staying mad at her boyfriend, but all the loud music and people were overwhelming, and the party girl in her was just begging to come out. Whoever had put up the sound proofing charm had done an amazing job because she could barely even hear herself think. On one side of the room she saw her boyfriend looking upset near a window, and she saw a lot of her friends having fun on the other side of the room. Chase looked up at her with a hopeful look in his eye, but she couldn't ignore the sound of fun coming from the other side of the room. This was one of those times when her Uncle Harry would tell her life's all about making decisions; and in her opinion a bad decision was still a decision, so she walked the opposite way and grabbed a cup of whatever the drink of choice was, downing it in one gulp. She turned back to look at Chase, debating whether or not she should even apologize, but when she looked over she saw him talking to Madison. Molly was so grateful that her best friend and boyfriend got along because Mads had the damage control thing down to a science. She understood Chase in a way Molly never would and was usually able to calm him down or make him see reason. Now she'd have to find some way to thank Mads for dealing with Chase for her tonight. _Does it ever end? _She decided to worry about it later as she grabbed another drink and polished it off like a pro. She was trying to make her way to the dance floor when a set of arms latched on to her waste. Molly spun around wanting to curse Chase but immediately softened when she saw her 'attacker'

"Carson! You're here!" she shouted. That drink was really starting to kick in, so she'd have to make sure and control herself.

"Of course I'm here crazy, it's my party."

"Your party?"

"Yes ma'am, the big seventeen! Looks like someone forgot to take their remembering pills this morning." He said tapping her head with his finger

"But your birthday isn't until…" she thought as hard as she could on the amount of alcohol she had ingested. His birthday was 10 days before Roxy's, and her birthday was next Saturday, which was 9 days after…"today. Oh god, Carson I'm such and idiot for forgetting. Happy Birthday Happy Birthday Happy Birthday! Don't hate me, you're like my best friend." She babbled, losing control over her speech.

"I'm not mad, but I'm clearly not drunk enough either." he joked. As if to emphasize his point, she tripped over nothing, and it took her about 10 seconds to get her bearings back.

"Aww, I really am sorry! Let's go get some drinks and then I'll make it up to you with a birthday dance!" She held his hand and dragged him along as they bobbed and weaved through the party people. They finally made it to the drinks table and she poured the both of them a glass, putting twice as much in his as she did her own. "Cheers birthday boy!" she shouted as they downed their glasses.

"Damn Molly! What is this?" he said turning his face up at the cup. Hell, she didn't know.

"Everclear!" Roxy screamed, coming out of nowhere. "It's a muggle liquor, and itsss disgusting but itss sooo drunk!" she got out. Molly couldn't help but laugh as she watched her not-that-little cousin. She remembered when Roxy first had her little transformation, and how jealous she was of her. As they grew older they started getting closer and closer, and Rox had even come to her instead of Vic when she wanted to wear make-up for the first time to go to the Valentine's Ball. Needless to say, Molly would cherish that moment forever.

"Where's Lex?" Molly yelled.

"He had to patrol tonight." she said with a dramatic pout. "Why's Chase over there with Madison? Did you psychopaths have another fight?"

"I'd be more surprised if we hadn't."

"Touche. Hey blondie, let's dance!" Roxy yelled at a Ravenclaw boy from her year.

"They grow up so soon!" she said, almost getting sad.

"You two are practically the same age, calm down." He poured them two more glasses and Molly noticed hers was practically empty, but she didn't care because the dance floor was calling her name. Literally. Roxy was screaming her name from the dance floor. She decided to finish her drink and internally praised herself for still having a fun side and not letting Captain Boring soften her up too much.

"I thought Chase didn't like you drinking?" Carson screamed over the music. She had completely forgotten that Chase was the reason she was here, and that made her feel bad for forgetting Carson's birthday and now she was just annoyed because she was 'feeling' too much for her to be at a party.

"Who cares? I'm sixteen years old and now you're of age! We can do whatever we want."

"Where is he anyway?" he asked.

"Over there talking to Madison, he's mad at me." She said pointing to where she last saw Chase.

"No, he's just sitting there by himself. What a kill joy!" _blah, blah, blah!_

"I don't wanna talk about Chase, I wanna dance. Let's go Bennett!" She grabbed him by the arm and lead him to the center of the dance floor, and when the music changed Molly let go and let her instincts take over. Not to toot her own horn or anything, but she considered herself to be an amazing dancer. She placed Carson's hands on her hips and began moving to the addictive rhythms of the music. Carson was holding on to her tightly and they were both already getting a little sweaty. He was moving in perfect time with her body, as if he knew the moves she was going to do before she did them. He spun her around so that they were face to face and she almost fell over from the sudden movement before giggling apologetically. She was drunk.

"You're drunk!" he said with a slur. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"So are you, Happy Birrrthay!" she said throwing her arms around him in a hug. Chase was so gentle and careful about everything and she hadn't had this kind of uninhibited fun in a while. Carson's hands travelled from her hips to her thighs, and when he got to side of her legs he lifted her up and she swung her legs around his waist. He continued to sway from side to side and Molly was briefly shocked at how he was able to dance and hold her while he was drunk.

The song changed to a slower beat and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Instinctively she moved her face closer and closer to his and she knew what could happen next. Carson moved to close the gap between them but Molly put her hand over his mouth quickly and wanted to kick herself for what she had been about to do; this is exactly why Chase hated for her to drink. He had stopped dancing and she unhinged her legs from his waist so that her feet were back on the floor. She buried her face in her hands in shame; how stupid could she be. "Sorry."

"No, I shlntve done that. It was out of line; I hope this wun't make things weird."

"Never almosht 'appened." she said with a smile. He saluted her and almost fell over from the motion. That was one of the best things about Carson; he didn't take anything too seriously. "I'm gonna go! You good?" she asked giving him one last hug.

"I'mmm big boy Molly, you go get sleep."

"Awright, don't drink and drive!" she joked and she laughed at her own joke almost the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower, which turned out to be one of the toughest journey's she'd ever made in her life. She got turned around a few times and even tried to hex the stairs when they changed on her. She took her shoes off and took a deep breath before looking around at the confusing halls. If Chase was here he would be able to help her. He would rub her back, and make sure she didn't fall, carry her up to his room and let her stay the night with him until she felt better. She really really _really _wanted him right now; all she had to do was make it to the Common Room.

"Hey! Over here!" someone called. _Is that the Fat Lady?_ She got up clumsily and followed the voice. "Just a few more steps dearie, and you'll beeeeee, here! Stop!" she did as she was told and faced the beautiful portrait.

"Bless you Lady, bless you. The password is um, um Ridinilus, rilinkabus?"

"It's Ridikkulus but you're close enough, in you go!" She _felt_ ridiculous. She walked in the dark common room and her head was spinning and pounding. She'd never drink Everclear again, it was the devil. When she finally made the difficult climb up the stairs to her room she heard a squeal as soon as she opened the door. Madison was naked wearing an embarrassed look and the person she was straddling, who Molly assumed to be her boyfriend Brooks, started cussing and looked like he was trying to get her off of him so he could leave. She laughed a little obnoxiously before shushing herself.

"No no, sorry Brooks. You stay, I'm gonna go find Chase." _How hilarious?_ Molly had no idea Mads and Brooks were sexually active and her walking in on them was just priceless. She closed the door and made a mental note to bring that one up at the lunch table tomorrow. She headed down the stairs to the boys' dorms and only made it to the bottom of the stairs before throwing up all over the rug; suddenly Chase's room seemed really far away. She headed back up the stairs and opened the first door she could get her hand on. She was taking back all bad things she'd ever said about big families because there was an amazingly large chance that she could go in any of the dorms in the Tower and find a cousin. Thankfully she found herself in Roxy's room and she made her way to her bed where she found Roxy passed out in the same outfit she'd seen her wearing at the party. They were so different, and yet they were so alike.

She shoved Roxy over and climbed into the painfully comfortable bed. Molly was _very _glad that tomorrow wasn't a school day; this had turned out to be quite a night, but she couldn't wait for the morning. She tried to use Roxy as a pillow, but the bony girl just wasn't as comfortable as she was used to. She missed Chase. The look on his face before she walked away at the party was burning in the back of her mind and she wanted badly to apologize for their fight. She wanted to fix them, so they could be the way they were before. She had gotten to be wild again for a night but now she wanted to be the perfect couple again. And they would; right after she got some hangover potion.

* * *

><p><strong>Trouble in paradise! What do you guys think about Molly and Chase? Should they make up again or are they over it? Let me know what you think! And about the "wild partying" at Hogwarts...I think back to when I was seventeen (like 2 yrs ago lol) at boarding school and if we could get away with it without magic, I'm sure these guys could pull it off. Just sayin.<strong>

**-Jazz**


	4. Riot

"We all stand up for something  
>We all stand up for one thing<br>Whatever that one thing maybe you and me?  
>We all stand up together<br>Get knocked down, come back stronger"

-Our Innocence Lost

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Louis hadn't been as excited about going to Hogwarts as everyone else. Sure, it was going to be interesting, but he hadn't planned out his day for weeks before like Lucy, or stressed about meeting nice people like Hugo, or talked everyone to death about how amazing it was going to be like Lily. He was just going to go with the flow like he did every other thing in his life. He tried to avoid feelings like stress, anxiety, anger, worry, or any other things that weren't happy or content. He didn't ask for much and he usually didn't have to try very hard to get the things done. He was "good" at football, but that was just natural talent; he didn't practice any more than anyone else on his team had. He received top marks at school, but it was only Primary School, the material couldn't have been that hard. People always liked him, but it wasn't like he sought out attention; they just seemed to naturally gravitate towards him because he was so laid-back. People at school had thought he was "cool", but he just did things his own way in his own time. He was very good looking, there was no down playing that, but again, he didn't do anything special to look that way. Those were just the cards he had been dealt._

_He was the complete opposite of his favorite cousin and counter-part Lucy. She literally could drive you crazy with the amount of things she could find to worry about. Everything in her zany little world had to be perfect and Louis often had to calm her down during her crazy moments. The task always fell to him because he was so calm and her panicking didn't bother him in the least. Her father was even more particular than her, Hugo wouldn't notice you were upset if you were crying right in front of him, and Lily's idea of making you feel better was yelling at you until you decide to not be upset anymore. Louis didn't mind being there for her, that's what family was for, but his job was going to be a little complicated with her not going to Hogwarts and all. _

_So as he sat in the Great Hall waiting to be sorted, he pondered something that he'd been thinking about for a long time. He didn't know if everyone had thought it through well enough when they decided to let Lucy go to WADA on her own. Not that she couldn't handle herself, but none of them had actually ever been on their own before. Louis liked to think he'd be fine on his own, but he was always surrounded by at least one other person so he didn't really know for sure._

_The same went for everyone else in their family because you just can't escape Weasley's when you're a Weasley. It's impossible. He could only hope that Lucy would befriend nice and trustworthy people, because her feelings got hurt easily and he wouldn't be there to look out fo her. It slightly worried him-slightly- for her sake and his. She would be alone, but technically that meant he was kind of on his own too. Everyone in the family has that one person that's more like a friend than a family member. It wasn't like they had been assigned to them or anything, it just happened naturally over time. Vic has Teddy, Molly has Roxy, James has Fred and Dominique (though not so much Dominique these days), Al has Rose, and Lily has Hugo. He usually had Lucy, but she was back in London. He really hoped things would go well for her because he'd be fine on his own, Lucy he wasn't so sure about._

"_Hugo Weasley." Neville called. Somehow Louis had missed just about all of the sorting, but he looked to the Gryffindor table and noticed that Lily was seated between Albus and James and sitting across from Chance Finnegan before turning his attention to Hugo's sorting. Of course, Hugo was bright red in the face and shaking a little. You probably wouldn't notice the shaking if you didn't know him well, but Louis knew that he was extremely nervous about it because James had spooked him into thinking that brothers and sisters couldn't be in the same house. Louis and Lily had tried to explain to him that their Aunt Ginny and his father were in the same house, and any normal person would notice that Lily had been sorted into a house with two of her brothers by now, but Hugo was still worried. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and let out a small gasp before the hat shouted out Gryffindor. Hugo let out a breath that he had to have been holding since they left the train station. As he made his way to their table, Neville called Louis' name, and he walked to the stool calmly and slowly._

_As he sat on the stool, a piece of blonde hair happened to be in his eye, and when he flipped his hair to clear his vision he heard giggles and whispering among some of the girls at their tables. He caught Lily's eye and she was making gestures like she was throwing up before laughing, which made him laugh too. Their silent communication was cut off when the big, ugly hat was placed on his head._

"_My last Weasley sorting." The hat hissed, "I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad."_

"_Be happy that this is the last one for a while," Louis thought, "And maybe sad for the same reason." _

"_Yes well, where would you like to be?" it asked. _

"_I d__on't really care, why do you ask?" _Wasn't that the hat's job? If every kid said where they wanted to go there'd be no use for the hat at all.__

__My sentiments exactly Mr. Weasley. And it's not every student, but a___lmost all of your family members before you had a preference, or told me where they wanted to go." Leave it to his family to change the rules of the sorting._

"_Oh, well I still don't care. They all seem fine to me, just go ahead and pick whatever."_

_"What _do _you care about?"_

_"Not...much.I don't see how this is relevant-"_

"_You know Mr. Weasley, there will come a time when you have to care about something and fight for it. Holding back your feeling will only hurt you in the end. If you don't come to terms with your emotions, you're going to explode one day." _

_Louis didn't even have time to consider what the hat was talking about before it shouted out Gryffindor and he was being ushered towards his family._

"_What in the world took you so long?" Lily asked. Apparently since she had been sorted in less than 3 seconds, everyone else was supposed to as well._

"_I honestly don't know. The hat went all Dr. Phil on me."_

"_Well at least it didn't try to put you in Slytherin!" Hugo yelled. Funny, Hugo was losing his mind._

"_Yeah right." Louis snorted. "Can we eat? I'm starving."  
><em>

* * *

><p>"Well what goes into a Confusion Concoction?" Hugo asked. They'd been trying to do this Potions assignment for about two hours now and were getting absolutely nowhere. Louis had done his a few days ago, but he liked the calm of the Library. He took the best naps in here and Madame Pince usually let him sleep as long as he liked.<p>

"Scurvy grass, Lovage, and…Sneezewort I think." Lily answered unsurely. Louis rolled his eyes. With Lily helping him, Hugo was going to do terribly on this assignment.

"No, that's the ingredients for a Befuddlement Draught." he corrected.

"Well what's the difference?" Hugo asked. "They sound exactly the same to me."

"The difference is that one is called Befuddlement Draught and the other is called Confusion Concoction. Same thing, right?" Lily answered. Louis couldn't help but laugh; they were hopeless.

"A befuddlement draught causes the drinker to become reckless and belligerent, Confusion Concoction causes confusion in the drinker; it's not the same."

"Ugh, Lily, come on! Why can't we just copy Lou's assignment?"

"_Because-_ wait, you finished it already?" Lily asked. He nodded in response and she hit him in the gut. "You saw us struggling you evil little boy, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Slipped my mind." He lied as he thumped her ear in retaliation. Really he hadn't forgotten, he just didn't feel like going up to his room to get them.

"You're no good Louis Weasley, I hope you know that." She teased. "Hugo, go get his assignment!"

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because Louis did the work and I'm a lady. Plus, you knew Louis had already done it too; just go!" Hugo mumbled something about ladies but went up to their room anyway. Louis noticed that as Hugo was leaving, one of the older students stuck out their foot and caused Hugo to lose his balance and trip. Hugo apologized and kept walking, making Louis feel bad for him. He and Lily often joked around and made fun of Hugo, but when they did it it wasn't to be cruel; it was because he was really funny without even trying. These kids were just being rude And Hugo was just letting them get away with it. He was gonna have to start sticking up for himself.

"Who are those guys at that table over there?" Louis said while pointing in their direction. Lily turned her head and scoffed.

"Some Slytherin idiots. They've been giving Hugo a hard time; teasing him and bullying him and stuff. I tried to say something but Hue wouldn't let me. He said he was going to kill them with kindness."

"Kindess? Is that some fancy potion I've never heard of, or does he mean the actual act of being kind?"

"The actual act of being kind." She said with a small smile. It wasn't funny that Hugo was being teased, but it was very 'Hugo' to try to kill someone with kindness.

"And he actually thinks that's going to work?"

"He's pretty confident about it; Aunt Hermione wrote to him in a letter saying if he was just nice to them, they would give up on picking on him and leave him be. I'm explaining it wrong, but it's something like that."

"Where did she get that from?" he asked.

"One of those self-help books maybe? 'So Your Teen Is Being Bullied' or something like that."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that existed. Is the kindness thing working?"

"Does it look like it's working?" Louis turned his attention back to the Slytherins and saw that they had called Hugo over to their table when he returned from getting the assignment. They were all laughing and Hugo was turning red. Not good.

"Come on, let's go sort this." He didn't really want to get Lily caught up this, but she was fiery and confident, and it wouldn't hurt for Hugo to see how someone like her would handle this situation. They marched up to the table and Louis tapped the biggest one on his shoulder. He turned around with his eyebrows raised at the sight of Louis and Lily. "I don't think we've met before; I'm Louis, this is my cousin Lily, and I think you already know my cousin Hugo."

"Yes, unfortunately I do know him. I have the disfortune of seeing him every day. I'm Nate, and these guys are-"

"I'm not really interested." Louis interrupted. "I just came over to warn you to stop messing with my cousin."

"Yeah? Or what? You gonna call big bad James or Fred to come set me straight?" he taunted, earning a high five from one of his friends.

"I don't need James or Fred to back me up. Leave Hugo alone or I'll straighten you out myself."

"What did you say to me pretty boy?" the boy Nate asked. Clearly no one had ever talked to him this way.

"You may look like an idiot but you don't have to act like one too. I'm sure your ears work fine, but I'll repeat it for you." said Lily, "Leave Hugo alone."

"You listen to me, I don't know who you two think you are-"

"Actually you do. I've already told you I'm Louis, and this is Lily. Do you have short term memory loss?" This made the boy named Nate seethed visibly at being embarrassed by a first year in front of all of his friends.

"You better watch your back Weasley. Next time I see you-"

"No, next time I see _you._" The three of them walked out of the library leaving Nate and his friends' jaws on the floor.

"You guys are mad!" Hugo screamed. "Those guys are huge, they _will_ fight you."

"And we won't fight back?" Lily asked.

"_You_ won't. I will; they can't keep messing with you Hugo."

"They're just misguided-" Hugo tried.

"And seriously stupid if they think they can get away with bullying people just because they're older."

"It's really okay Louis-"

"Not it's not! You should be pissed, not trying to calm me down! You're the one we're defending here!" he screamed. Louis never screamed about anything, so when he yelled at Lily and Hugo that had ended the conversation. Now he felt bad for yelling. Lilly looked offended and Hugo actually looked scared when he should have been the one yelling. Apologizing wouldn't do much good, so he just continued down the halls. They walked silently back to the Common Room where the rest of the family was sitting in the corner that had been named 'The Weasley Section'. Louis had always found it weird, because it wasn't like that part of the Common Room had been rented out especially for them or anything, people just assumed they weren't allowed to sit there. All the other Gryffindors tended to avoid that section, except for the select few like Chase, his little brother Chance, Lex, Scorpius, and Lysander. It wasn't common that the whole group was there, but on the off chance that they were all seated together it was just like another Sunday at The Burrow. Their silent entrance was unusual at best, so it wasn't a surprise when they caught everyone's attention as they sat on the couch wearing expressions of anger, annoyance, and fear.

"So is someone gonna tell us what happened, or are we going to have to guess?" Roxy asked.

"Well," Lily started, used to being the one that had to speak in these situations, "One of the Slytherins, Nate I think, and some of his friends have been teasing Hugo. We saw them starting trouble, went over to help Hugo out, and Louis threatened them and we left."Nobody really said anything, but they all looked shocked. Even Dom, who hadn't been interested in family affairs lately, turned from her windowsill with her eyebrows raised. They were really overreacting; it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Wait, you threatened Nate Creswell? The kid from _my _year?" James asked.

"I didn't exactly threaten him, I just told him that if he didn't leave Hugo alone I'd straighten him out. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Molly asked, "How many fights have you won in your 11 and a half years of life, Lou?"

"I fight you guys all the time-"

"That doesn't count," interrupted Fred, "We aren't trying to hurt you when we wrestle, these guys don't even know you so they won't take it easy on you."

"And he's almost twice your size so let's just hope it doesn't come to that." said James, "And Lily, don't get yourself mixed up in this. Louis you should have known better than to let her get into it."

"I can take him! And relax; I wasn't going to let her fight him."

"And you're not going to fight him either."

"Don't worry about me. I may not have to fight them at all, Hugo is going to kill them." This really got everyone's attention; especially Rose's.

"He's going to what?" she screeched, "Please, tell me you're joking."

"Oh no," Louis continued, "he's going to kill them alright. Kill them with kindness."

"Lily!" Hugo yelled, "You told him? Can't you ever keep your mouth shut?"

"It's just Louis, not the Minister of Magic. Who was he going to tell?"

"The whole family! Just now!"

"Hey, don't take your anger out on me." she responded, "You never said I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. If it was a secret I wouldn't have told. I can keep a secret."

"Yeah, keep it in circulation."

"Alright you two, that's enough." Molly interrupted. The two of them stopped bickering but Hugo thumped her knee and she stuck her tongue out at him in response. "Hugo, there will be no killing and Louis there will be no fighting. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." He said, honestly over this conversation. "I'm going to bed."

He didn't like the fact that they were all making such a big deal about it. Nate Creswell hadn't seemed that big and bad to him. He was just as idiotic as the bullies from their Primary School and his bark was probably bigger than his bite. He'd be able to handle it if necessary. Weeks went by without word from this Nate guy, and Louis thought that the problem had been resolved. Everyone had really forgotten about it, and Hugo hadn't been bullied anymore as far as Louis knew. He thought that it was all behind them and had no thoughts of the confrontation as he walked with Lily and Hugo to the Great Hall. Usually on Saturday mornings they all ate breakfast together and kind of had brunch like back at the Burrow. They were on their way there when they ran into Nate and his friends. Hugo was carrying some work he needed to finish, and of course when they passed the Slytherins they hit his books so that papers went flying everywhere. Louis was going to just let it go, but the sight of Hugo picking up the things someone else had dropped, ticked him off. He took a deep breath and walked back to where Nate and his friends were.

"Lily-"

"I'm coming; drop it." He didn't have time to argue with her as he cleared his throat, making Nate and his friends turn around.

"Hello boys; I think you should help Hugo with that stuff."

"Look at what we have here guys, it's our cute little Gryffindor friends here to set us straight. You and little Miss Potter here gonna start trouble?"

"I don't want to have to, but I will deal with you if you don't leave my family alone."

"You know what, pretty boy?" he said as he pushed his shoulder. "Since we're bringing up your pathetic little family I might as well tell you just how I feel about the Weasley's."

"You better not." Louis said through his teeth, earning a shove from Nate.

I don't like you, or your yippy little red headed side kick, or your idiot of a cousin Hugo."

"Shut your mouth!" With every insult came another shove, and Louis was getting angrier and angrier.

"I can't stand Roxy, or James the prat, or that psycho Fred, or that bitch Molly, and I really hate your slut of a sister."

Now, Louis wasn't sure if Nate had stopped talking or if he just zoned out, but all he knew was the sound of his fist hitting Nate's jaw was deafening. He couldn't tell you exactly what had happened after that, but he knew that Hugo had started hitting Nate and heard Lily yelling at both of them to let go and stop. But Louis couldn't stop because he was furious. At some point James, Al, Lex and Fred had joined in the fight as well and it had turned into an all out brawl. Rose was screaming and Molly, Roxy and Dominique were trying to pull everyone apart. It seemed like they could have gone on for hours, but Louis felt himself being lifted into the air involuntarily. He looked around and noticed that all of his family suspended in the air; James was still punching at the air.

"Everybody stop!" a familiar voice screamed. "Neville, take care of the others, I'll handle my family."

Louis watched as Neville guided the four Slytherin's out of the hall, not lowering them from the air. As soon as they were all out of the way, the rest of them were slowly lowered to the ground. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Louis would have laughed at all of them standing there huffing and puffing, looking all disheveled.

"In my office, now!" Teddy screamed. Their parents were going to kill them. They all filed out of the hallway and made the short trip to his office, where they'd all been the day he announced he was marrying Victoire. They piled in just like they had last time, except this time instead of looking interested and excited, they were all looking pretty angry. Teddy pulled out his muggle phone and dialed a number. It only rang once before Louis heard his sister's voice come on over the speaker.

"Hello?" she asked quickly.

"Hey!We've got a little bit of a situation over here. I've got all of your younger family members and a few of their friends in my office."

"Hi everybody! This better not be something bad; you've all only been there for a few weeks."

"Oh, you just wait." he said before turning his attention back to them. "Ok, we're going to try to do this the easy way. I have Vic on speaker; if you tell us exactly what happened, your parents won't be called." For the sake of solidarity, no one spoke. But they'd have to say something eventually so Louis decided to kick things off.

"One of those idiotic Slytherins was getting on my nerves, so I punched him."

"Was that Louis?" Vic screeched. "You picked a fight? Comment pourriez-vous aussi stupide?"

"I didn't start it, he was saying really horrible things! And you know I don't speak French!" he yelled back.

"It doesn't matter who started it, it's never a good decision to use violence."

"Since when are you the spokes person for good desicions?" He mumbled.

"Alright, alright." Teddy cut in, "What could he have said that made you so upset?"

"Well…he's always teasing Hugo first, but that's not what upset me. He called Lily my sidekick and said he hates the whole family. He kept pushing me and calling everyone names and then he used really rude words against Dom and Molly. I just snapped." Louis could tell that since he'd been defending the family, Teddy was going to let him off easy. Molly's jaw dropped but Dominique only rolled her eyes.

"So he started it, you hit him, how'd everyone else get involved?" Vic asked.

"Well, I was right there when Louis hit him, so I tried to pull him off and may have gotten in a hit or two." Lily answered. "I don't know about everyone else."

"I saw Lily and Louis, and it looked like Nate's friends were about to jump in, so I kinda started fighting too. Sorry." Hugo confessed. He had nothing to be sorry about in Louis's opinion, they had kicked ass!

"We were all in the dining hall," James started, "then Finnegan came and told us that Lily and Louis had gotten into a fight. Al and I were down there in like 5 seconds and it was already pretty crazy. Louis and Hugo were actually holding their own, seeing as Nate's friends have brains the size of grapes, but when I saw Lily I snapped. That's when I jumped in, I think Fred and Al did too."

"By the time Lex and I got there things were way out of hand." Roxy added. "I asked Lex to go get Fred, but he ended up fighting too, so I just tried to pull everyone apart. I think Dom and Molly were doing the same."

"And Rose?" Teddy asked the girl who had only stopped crying a few seconds ago.

"Well I didn't fight, or pull anyone off. I just kind of stood there because there was so much going on," she said nervously. "But honestly they didn't need any more help."

"Ok, you guys can't just go around fighting people like you're some kind of gang. That's not how any of you were raised."

"Well, we were raised to protect each other, that's all I was doing." Louis answered honestly. His heart-felt response earned him 'aw's' from some of the girls, including Victoire. Even Teddy was wavering with his 'stern teacher' act.

"I know Nate provoked you, and he'll be dealt with, but you really need to consider the consequences next time. You were lucky that James and the other boys were around- not that I condone you fighting together but-"

"What my husband is trying to say is don't let your anger get the best of you. If they ever bother you again, speak with Neville or Teddy and let them handle it. No more Weasley brawls, alright?"

"Alright." They all answered.

"And Louis?"

"Yeah?"

"Good job. Now are we done with this? I'm starving."

"Yeah, I've got it from here. Bye!"

"Bye everyone! Love you all!"

Victoire rarely said Louis did good on anything, so he couldn't help but feel proud no matter what the circumstances were. He knew that she was probably more happy that he'd actually stood up for something than she was upset at the fact that he'd punched one of his schoolmates. Even Teddy, who was supposed to be dishing out punishments didn't seem all that upset now that he knew the whole story. If he was still a student and had heard the things that kid was saying, he'd probably have jumped in too.

"Alright guys, as long as you're not fighting each other I'm cool, but you'll have to suffer the consequences for your actions. So…Rose and Finnegan, one nights detention; Molly, Roxy, and Dominique, three nights; Lex, James, Fred and Al, one week including the weekend; Lily and Hugo, two weeks; Louis three." Maybe Teddy wasn't going to be as nice as Louis thought. Three weeks was a lot of time to waste being detained, but no one else was really complaining about their punishments and he had started it anyway.

"You're to report for your detentions at 7:00 p.m. and if you're late you'll have another day tacked on to your total." _That _had gotten everyone's attention.

"Teddy, that's so unfair!"

"What about Quidditch?"

"What about my social life?"

"That's right after dinner!"

"Quiet!" Teddy screamed. "That's the punishment. No if's, and's, or but's. You'll serve your detentions with me and that's final."

"With you?" Louis asked, "In here?"

"Unless you'd rather serve it with Proffesor Binns-"

"No, with you is good." He answered. Honestly, Louis never felt happier to be a Weasley than in this moment. They'd have to go to the detentions like they'd been assigned, but with Teddy it wasn't going to be bad at all. It might actually be fun.

"That's what I thought. Now go on about your day, detentions start Monday."All twelve of them filed out of the office and headed back for the Common Room since they'd missed breakfast. After this morning, they were probably closer than they'd been in a long time. He felt bad that he'd gotten them all detentions, but in a weird way it had brought them together. He officially considered Lex one of the guys now because he'd jumped in without a second thought, unlike Finnegan who had watched from the sidelines. Either way, the Weasley's weren't to be taken lightly, and had each other's backs till the end.

"Honestly, that was pretty bad ass." Lex admitted, even though he was a prefect. "Your family is one of a kind."

"Hey, thanks for having our backs today Alvarez. That was really cool." James said appreciatively.

"Pause, did you just get James Potter's approval?" Roxy teased.

"Ha ha." James responded. "But honestly, I do approve. You're officially one of us." Lex cheered dramatically making them all laugh.

"What about me? I was there too." Chase said from the back of the group.

"Nobody likes a bragger Finnegan." Louis chimed in. He really didn't have hard feelings towards Chase, but James' weird hatred for him had kind of rubbed off on the other boys.

"Louis! Not you too." Molly whined.

"I couldn't help it. But hey guys, sorry I got you all detentions." Louis apologized.

"Are you kidding?" James asked, "I've wanted to hex that kid since the moment I laid eyes on him."

"Teddy's right though, next time you shouldn't try to do that alone." Roxy said responsibly.

"Next time? I don't think anyone will mess with a Weasley or Potter again- or they'll have to answer to my little brother and risk an 11-man attack." Dom teased. This made everyone laugh, considering how large of a possibility that was.

"There were Weasley's coming from everywhere," Al joked through his laughter. "Classic."

Louis had to admit that it was funny now, but he had meant what he said to Creswell about messing with his family and he may have just found out the thing that he would always stand up for. No one messed with his family.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so Louis! Love him, hate him? He kind of reminds me of that friend that never tries but is good at everything and you can't stand them but love them lol What do you think is up with Dominique? What did you think of the fight and Teddy's reaction? Let me know in a review! It will be appreciated and responded to, as always. Also, one reviewer requested an update on the ages so I'm going to add that to the end of the first chapter just to decrease confusion for people just starting. Sorry about that. I know, I'm rambling. ok.<strong>

**-Jazz**


	5. Gotta Go My Own Way

"I gotta say what's on my mind  
>Cause something about us doesn't seem right these days<br>Life keeps getting in the way  
>And whenever we try somehow the plan is always rearranged<br>So hard to say, but I gotta do what's best for me  
>You'll be ok<br>I've got to move on and be who I am  
>I just don't belong here, I hope you understand<br>We might find our place in this world someday  
>But at least for now I gotta go my own way<p>

-Vanessa Hudgens

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Keep an eye out for your brother." Her father said seriously. Louis clearly was not going to need Dominique. He'd already said goodbye to their parents and gotten on the train without any hesitation. He hadn't even asked to sit with her and her friends like she'd expected him to; Louis would be fine, but her parents wouldn't want to hear that._

"_Yeah, of course. I have to go though, I'll write soon"_

_As she said her final goodbyes to her mother and father, Dom couldn't believe that the summer had already ended and she was starting her third year. So much had changed between last year and today that it was almost unreal. Her idiot sister had gotten married to Teddy twice, Fred had turned into some kind of maniac dare-devil, and James was more of a prat than ever, letting his new position as Quidditch Captain go straight to his head. There was absolutely no telling what McGonagall had been drinking when she authorized that decision, but it had happened. Roxy was completely obsessed with her new relationship, Molly and Chase had turned into the next Ron and Hermione, and Lucy had been chosen to go to another school. Yeah, the Weasley's had definitely been shaking things up lately. _

_As she made her way on the train, Dom noticed she was getting an unusual amount of attention from the other students on board. At first she thought she had something on her face, but then again, she had shaken things up a bit as well. She'd spent most of the previous year working on her new imagine. No longer would Dom be thought of as one of the guys. Rather than goofing off, pranking, and rough housing with the boys, Dom used her time reading girly magazines; learning thousands of ways to style her hair, keep her nail polish from chipping, and mix and match pieces to get more out of an outfit. She was actually decent when it came to the make-up, though she was still afraid to do much more than mascara. If any of her cousins went shopping she would tag along to pick up things that would help add some life to her wardrobe. She'd even gone so far as opting to spend their annual summer vacation tanning with Molly and Roxy instead of "playing" with James and Fred, and she hadn't worn her hair in its usual French braid since the night before Vic graduated._

_In general, everyone was ok with the changes. But general didn't include Fred or James, whose opinion had mattered to her the most. At first she had tried to keep their friendship the same, but with each day that passed they made it exceedingly difficult for her to want to be in the same room with them. If they weren't criticizing her clothes, which were tasteful for her age, they were making fun of the fact that she now wore make- up, or excluding her from everything with the excuse that they "didn't want her to break a nail." It was really unfair to her because she had never, no matter what they'd done, judged or made fun of them for their choices. When she was still a tomboy they teased her about not being girly enough ,and when she let herself get in touch with her feminine side, they teased her about being too girly. Usually their nagging would make her revert to her old ways, but Dominique truly liked the change. She was still the same person on the inside, she had just improved a few things on the outside._

_But what did she care? It wasn't like she had changed for them anyway; she had done this all for herself. Ok, maybe Carter had had something to do with it but it wasn't for him entirely. However, if her new look helped him come to his senses about Hollis, then it was a bonus. She was pretty sure she and Carter had ended things on a "not friends" status, but maybe that could change._

"_Hello sweetheart." She heard a voice call from behind her. "Do I know you? Because you look a lot like my next girlfriend." She was going to just keep walking until she felt a hand quickly tap her bottom. She whipped around at the motion, not really sure how she should react, but calmed down a little when she realized who it was. Maybe this would be a good time to test out her flirting skills._

"_Not too bad yourself Longbottom, but I'd advise you to not touch me like that again without my permission."_

"_Dominique? Oh my..oh my goodness. You, you look-"_

"_Like your next girlfriend? What a terrible pick-up line." she teased. She couldn't believe how much Zack had changed since their first year when they had all been friends. He had just turned 14 a few days ago, but he looked a little older, and didn't hang out with them anymore for reasons Dominique would never understand. He was the most popular guy in their year, and he was here flirting with her._

"_I was going to say you look different, but I like your idea better." He said smoothly. She felt herself blushing but didn't want him to know she was affected by him. It really wasn't him, she was just happy that all her hard work had been paying off. Plus, no one had ever really talked to her like this before._

"_Do these lines usually work for you? Because frankly I'm not impressed." _

"_No? What would I have to do to impress you then?" Dom pretended to consider this for a minute before shrugging and continuing down the hall towards the compartments. She thought she had completely bombed that until she heard footsteps running behind her. "Sit with me on the ride, maybe we could figure something out."_

"_Thanks, but no thanks." She said without turning around. "There are a few lovely Slytherin that asked me to join them first." This was a complete lie, but he didn't have to know that._

"_Oh come on, we could catch up." Dom simply giggled and continued walking. This was actually kind of fun. Eventually she'd have to actually find somewhere to sit, but it was too funny seeing the guy who could have almost any girl in the school, begging her to sit with him. Suddenly the train launched forward and she didn't even have time to register that she had moved before tripping and catching onto the first thing she could find. It just happened to be the door to the compartment where James, Fred and Linden were seated across from Hollis and Carter. Perfect; her favorite 5 people._

_"Oh no, Dom are you alright?" Linden asked. Dominique had to admit that of all the people in this group, she hated Linden the least. She was the only one that really had mind of their own, and had always treated Dominique kindly. In return, Dom was nicer to her than any of the others and if she wasn't so close to James, she could have been a really close friend._

_"I'm fine, thanks. Hello everyone."_

"_Hey, D._"_Carter said, earning a glare from his girlfriend._ _Instead of responding verbally, she flashed a quick smile and began straightening out her skirt so she wouldn't look crazy on her hunt for a seat on the train._

_"Why don't you hike your skirt up a bit higher?" James teased, "I don't think the people in China can see enough of your legs." Fred smacked James in response to his offensive comments._

_"Thank you Fred."_

_"You're welcome. But your skirt is kind of up there."_

_"Thank you Fred." James mimicked. "All I'm saying is, you could leave just a little bit to the imagination."_

"_Oh, bite me." She answered. She'd absolutely had enough of him. Her skirt wasn't any higher than Linden's, but James wasn't asking her leave anything to _his_ imagination._

"_I'm just joking." He said unconvincingly. "What are you waiting for? Sit down."_

"_Actually, I'm not sitting with you all this time." She quipped._

"_Oh really?" Carter asked, unconvinced._

_"Yes." she lied. Honestly at this point she'd be sitting with Louis._

_"Who else have you got to sit with Mrs. Popularity?" Hollis asked. They definitely had her there; or she thought they did until she felt a long arm snake around her waist. She'd never been happier to see Zack, Mr. Popularity himself, in her life._

"_Actually she's sitting with me." He answered before kissing her quickly on the cheek ,"Ready babe?" The five Gryffindors all wore equal masks of shock and Carter put his arm around Hollis in some kind of response. What did that mean? He hugged her close to his body and gave her shoulder a squeeze, causing his sweater to rise up and reveal his bare wrist. He was no longer wearing his friendship bracelet. That was fine with Dom; it wasn't like they were anything close to friends anymore anyway. She quickly hid her own wrist by pretending to play with Zack's hair._

"_Yeah, let's go." _

"_Very funny D, you're not seriously with this clown are you?" Fred asked._

"_The only clowns I see here are you pathetic lot." Zack answered. "Enjoy the train ride; I'll be enjoying your cousin's company." Dom couldn't see it, because she had been pulled away by Zack, but she could definitely hear Carter struggling to hold either James or Fred back. It serves them right; how could they tease her in front of their friends (and Hollis) then expect her to spend 7 hours with them on the way to school._

"_Thanks for that." She said to Zack when they made it to an empty compartment._

"_No worries; I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress."_

"_Damsel my arse; I could have handled it." She said before kicking her legs up so that her feet were resting in Zack's lap. _

_"I'm sure you could have." he said, losing the smooth-talking act and reverting to the Zack she used to know."You don't need to be hanging out with those lames anyway." And he was back._

_"Well I kind of have to hang out with them don't I? Seeing as we're related and everything."_

_"That doesn't mean you have to follow them around like a lost puppy. A girl like you should be running things around here, not taking orders from James Pratter." he joked._

"_James Pratter? Did you come up with that one all by yourself?"_

"_No, but it suits him either way. He's a ruddy wanker if you ask me."_

"_I remember when that ruddy wanker used to be your right-hand man. I__s it that easy for you to forget that you used to be best friends with them?" she asked, "What happened between you guys anyway?"_

"_What happened is that I realized I'm my own person; not one of James' lap dogs. You all complain about how overbearing he is but you still do what he says without even realizing it. He may control you but he doesn't control me."_

"_James does not control me."_

"_Ha. He's got all of you hanging on his every word. It doesn't have to be like that you know; I'll introduce you to my friends, you'll see just how much better you are than them."_

"_Whatever," she said, dismissing the conversation. James may be a little overprotective but he was still family. Luckily Zack had stopped talking and was messing with his har, giving her the chance to mentally go over the events of the day so far. She and James were clearly not on good terms for the time being. He was a prat and a moron and she didn't have to put up with him. She wasn't she about Fred, but he obviously was not pleased with the possibility of her and Zack hanging out. Hollis was still Hollis; although she hadn't commented on Dom's looks. This wouldn't mean anything for anyone else, but usually if Hollis had something nice to say she didn't say anything at all. And Zack? Well, she didn't know about him. Dom was close to drifting to sleep until she felt Zack's fingers drawing patterns on her legs absentmindedly. The scene looked very comfortable and "couple-y". "Hey Longbottom, just so you're clear; this doesn't mean we're together."_

"_Whatever you say."  
><em>

* * *

><p>"I was wondering if..you would, um ya know. Would you-"<p>

"Spit it out Cohen." Dom dragged. She was sitting in the Great Hall with Zack and some of his friends, and this guy was seriously embarrassing her and himself.

"Would you…go to Hogsmead with me?" he asked sweetly. Dom had not been expecting that! Didn't he know who she was? The kind of people she was sitting with? He had to have known that this was going to end badly for him.

"Oh look! Little Cohen has a crush on Dominique!" Carly Davies, leader of the group, teased. This caused everyone at the table to laugh heartily and the boy blushed in response. As always Dom didn't laugh along with them, but she didn't tell them to stop either, which according to Roxy was worse than laughing. Over the first few months of school Dom had pretty much perfected the mean girl act, but at the end of the day it was just that; an act. She wasn't heartless like these people so she was going to try to end this boy's misery and do this as painlessly as possible.

"Well Dominique," Carly's twin Marly cooed, "Are you going to go to Hogsmead with wittle Cohen?" She looked back and forth between the group and the poor guy feeling helpless. If she said yes, they'd probably make this kid's life a living hell, but if she just said no they'd get a little laugh out of it and probably forget about him by the morning.

"Sorry, no." she said, trying to sound bored rather than disgusted.

"Oh, well maybe we could study together sometime?" he tried. She really just wished he would go away, but clearly he wasn't going to make this easy for either of them.

"No means no Cohen, now could you please remove yourself from my personal bubble? I'd prefer to keep my lunch down and you're making me sick." The boy walked away embarrassed and Dom was only able to feel ashamed for less than a second before Zack's lips were crashing down on hers. Sometimes Dominique felt like Zack thought she belonged to him. He wasn't her boyfriend, but they spent a lot of time together anf they would sometimes hold hands or kiss.

"Why on earth does that loser think he'd have a chance with you babe?" he asked.

"No idea." She answered quickly before getting up and grabbing her things. "I'm going to go, see you in the common room." She gave Zack a quick peck on the cheek-out of habit- and made her way towards the Tower. She only made it a few steps before she felt an arm sling lazily over her shoulders. What did she have to do to get rid of this guy?

"I must say you were hilarious back there." Zack commented with a laugh.

"That was so not funny Zack. I don't even know why he came up to me like that! It was so random. I feel bad for him."

"Don't; he deserved it."

"No he didn't, he didn't do anything to you." When he didn't protest she stopped in her tracks and rounded on the boy who was much taller than she. "Zachary Longbottom, what did you do? Did you put him up to that?"

"The little creep wouldn't let me copy his Charms homework so I decided to teach him a bit of a lesson."

"What lesson? That if your own work and don't let people cheat you'll be publicly rejected by girls?" she asked.

"Pretty much. It's true though, you said no."

"That's not the point, what you did was wrong."

"I don't see how..."

"He wouldn't let you copy his hard work so you dared him to ask me out?" she said as she punched him. She may not be a tomboy anymore, but she hadn't forgotten how to hit. "That's wrong!"

"Ow! I didn't dare him to do anything; that was all his doing. I only told him that you had a secret crush on him and had been waiting for him to ask you out. I may have also added that you like guys that aren't afraid to approach you in front of crowds." He said as he laughed at his sick little joke. She hit him again and the laughin stopped immediately.

"You're vile."

"Oh, calm down babe. It was all in good fun." She slid from under his arm and jumped to a staircase that was just starting to move.

"Not for me…_babe." _ What in the world had she gotten herself into? She knew she could be a little mean sometimes, but what Zack did was just plain evil and she had played right into it, as usual. Dominique had no idea that "popularity"- if that's what you want to call it- came at such a high price. It was ridiculous how shallow and materialistic these people were. The same girls who had teased her about being a tomboy and called her names were now asking her to sit with them at lunch and buddying up to her all because of some make-up and a few shortened skirts. It was crazy, and Dom knew it was stupid of her to keep hanging out with them, but sometimes she needed a break from her Gryffindor friends. They were all paired up and somehow she seemed to always be the butt of their jokes. Whether they were teasing her about her clothes or hair, or making her feel bad for dating a few guys, they seemed to isolate her and she didn't like feeling left out. Plus, it wasn't easy to see Hollis and Carter together all of the time. At some point unknown to Do,m they had made their relationship official, much to her disliking. Honestly she'd thought that Carter would take one look at the new her and realize she was just as good if not better than Hollis, but that had most certainly not been the case. Not only were they more distant than ever, he seemed to turn up his affection towards Hollis to 110 percent whenever Dominique was around, as if to shove his choice in her face.

In retaliation, she had tried dating a few people to make him jealous. There was a Ravenclaw from her year, Marcus Chaffey, a sixth year Gryffindor, Douglass McCallan (that one had particularly pissed everyone off), and for some reason there was always Zack, waiting for her to break up with these guys or need him. Of course, this only brought Carter closer to Hollis. They were always touching or making googly eyes and Dominique told herself that she was just disgusted, not jealous. Because really, who wants to see that all of the time? It made hanging out with them extremely awkward, and if she was causing tension in the group it was only fair to remove herself every now and then.

On top of that, Dom hadn't realized that it would be hard to distance herself from one of them without severing ties between the rest. At this point she was about as friendly with James and Fred as she would be to a complete stranger or distant relative that you were forced to visit. They had stopped teasing her about her outfits, but then again they had also stopped including her altogether. She couldn't tell you a thing that had happened to either of them in the past two months, even though she saw them every day. The only time they were relatively cordial was at the end of the day when the family would lounge around the Common Room, but even then she stayed to herself. She hated that they hadn't gotten to this point but she really didn't know what there was for her to do about it.

"Password."

"Felix Felicis." The portrait door swung open and she was relieved to find The Weasley Section empty. Now she wouldn't have to walk through and pretty much be ignored. She took her usual spot on the window sill and stared dreamily out of the window. Dom could sit here for hours and hours if anyone would let her. There was something calming about the view of the lake and it reminded her of Shell Cottage. It was easy to forget about how depressing last year had been when she was at home. Her parents adored her; Louis was so carefree that he didn't have time to be sad; and Victoire was so mental about getting re-married that she didn't really bother anyone. There was so much else to deal with back at home there wasn't much time to feel sad. She hadn't had time to dwell on the fact that she had lost some of her closest friends, or to realize what they truly thought of her. She didn't have time to obsess about what he was doing or day dream about all the good times they had.

That was at Shell Cottage. Here, it was different. Here she had to see him every day; in class, in their Common Room; in the Great Hall. Here she had to watch him as he got closer to his girlfriend and farther from her. Here she couldn't help but think of those good times when she passed certain spots in the castle. Here she was sad, but she would never let anyone know that. It was bad enough to be almost 15 and depressed, but knowing that this was all because of a boy made her feel pathetic. When she was hanging out with Zack and his friends she didn't have to feel like that. There were plenty of boys that liked her, and they never made her feel unwanted or second best. They made her feel like she was a part of something.

"Look what we have here." A familiar voice called. _Screw this day._ She could see his reflection in the window and it took a second to compose herself and plaster on the mask of boredom that she'd gotten accustomed to before turning around. "Dominique Weasley all alone? Someone alert the media!"

"Carter; haven't talked to you in a while."

"I know, why's that?" he asked. She could tell him the truth, but he wouldn't listen.

"Well your girlfriend hates me and you're rarely detached from her hip, so..."

"That's funny, I could say the same about you and your boy Zack."

"Zack isn't my boyfriend; not that it's any of your business."

"Oh right; you're just his thing of the week."

"I'm not anyone's _thing_ Carter." she snapped. This was the first time they'd spoken to each other directly in weeks and he was going to judge her? Not cool.

"No need to get all snippy. Just joking." She rolled her eyes and turned her face back towards the window as she spoke.

"I see you haven't gotten any funnier. Makes me wonder what the hell Hollis is giggling at all the time."

"I thought we were done with that. You'd realize she's not that bad if you weren't so hostile towards her." Dom really didn't have the patience, nor was she interested in hearing him talk up his bitch of a girlfriend. She didn't get it. _He_ had chosen Hollis, _he_ had ended their friendship, and _he_ had made things awkward between them.

All she had ever done was try to be his friend, but that was not an option at the time being, so why was he here? Why was he hell bent on making a case for the girl who's sole purpose had been to prove that Dom wasn't worthy of Carter's time or attention? He wanted things to go back to the way they were back in their first year when no one was dating or fighting. He was blind to the fact that that was never going to happen. She couldn't have small talk with him and try to be friends when she wanted to be more than that. "Has it ever occurred to you that you're the _only _one that has a problem with her? She's actually really nice and if you'd just take a second and-"

"And what Carter, talk to her? Get to know her? Become besties?" she yelled. "No. I _know _who she really is, you're the one that's mistaken. And if you and I can't be friends as long as you're with her, then so be it; because I can't be friends with someone that doesn't have my back. You just let some girl get away with treating me like crap and then blamed me for it, yet _I'm _the problem?"

"I'm not saying that but if you-" she couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he was.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, it's always me. _She's _the problem here Carter, not me. So if you want us to get along you tell that little bitch to come talk to me herself. I'm over it and you. All of you."

Dom walked away knowing that that was it. Any chance of them ever being friends again were he'd gotten under her skin again and made her lose her cool. That was not going to happen again with anyone. She'd be damned if she let another person get close to her again because people suck. Yes, she always said this, but this time she was serious because this time she was going to try something different. Instead of trying to make things work, or taking the high road, or let herself be sad, she just wasn't going to care. As she thought about, it seemed like the best idea she'd ever had. She wouldn't have to feel anything because she didn't care. It was like flipping a switch that had never been touched and it felt exhilarating. She didn't have to feel or think, and in doing so she didn't have to be hurt. She refused to ever let anyone hurt her agaiain.

* * *

><p><strong>Another chapter up! Yay! Don't be afraid to leave a review, I read and respond to all of them! Also, I added a list of the characters ages to the first chapter, so go back and check that out if you needed that cleared up.<strong>

**-Jazz**


	6. There Goes My Life

"There goes my life  
>There goes my future, my everything<br>Might as well kiss it all good-bye  
>There goes my life"<p>

-Kenny Chesney

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Victoire would honestly search the world to find someone more exhausted than she was. She had been extremely short-tempered, emotional, and easily annoyed, which were traits that were very unlike her. She was usually a very patient and loving person, but lately she was bothered by the smallest things. Her Healer training, the thing she had worked for seven years to get to, had turned out to be something lclose to what she imagined hell to be. All of the other students in the program were insanely annoying, fact-loving suck up's, and she'd rather spend the day with her Uncle Percy after one of his " fascinating" days at the Ministry. Her days started off fighting for bathroom time in the extremely tiny loft that she shared with her best friend Lexi. She had inherited the Weasley love of sleep, so she almost always lost that battle, and each day it seemed to take Lexi more and more time to get ready making Vic later and later. She usually ended up rushing to St. Mungo's looking less than presentable, and had to hear from the hospital interns about how time was of the essence and such. Most mornings she took it upon herself to go to the program director's office before one of the sneaky interns could tattle on wasn't the fact that she got in trouble that bothered her, it was the fact that her aunt was head of the program, which was never good when trying to prove that you got in the program purely on merit and not because of your last name. After being scolded, the next 10 hours consisted of lectures, labs, exams, and a vast array of tedious work that she had to work really hard to keep up with. After that she would have to rush home to get started on her homework immediately if she wanted to get a reasonable amount of sleep during the night._

_Vic rarely talked to Teddy and when she did, she was easily angered by his stories about school or kids. She did school all day long and the simple thought of children wore her out. Of course she didn't really like to talk to him about the hospital, because it would bore him to death and she personally didn't want to relive those moments again. And on top of all of that she'd been keeping a huge secret that was about to weigh her down; literally. Eventually she'd tell her husband, or anyone other than Lexi for that matter, but she just couldn't do it over the phone or through the fireplace. This was face-to-face news, and boy did she wish she could see Teddy's face again. She missed him like crazy and she couldn't believe they wouldn't see each other again until Christmas. She had really wanted to tell him about her appointment today, but she didn't want to worry him about something that may or may not be happening anyway. It wasn't like she didn't want this, she just didn't know if the two of them were ready for it yet as a newly married couple. They didn't have the best jobs to handle this particular situation, and it was going to be a lot more work than either of them were prepared for. They had barely even gotten the chance to enjoy being married, now she was possibly adding another stress to their load. But whether she decided to go through with it or not, she had to go into the hospital for this appointment._

_Lexi had threatened to tell not only Teddy, but her entire family if she didn't go today. Vic wasn't an idiot, she knew she'd have to see someone eventually, she just wasn't ready for this to be real yet and having a doctor confirm her suspicions would make this all too real. Either way, she was here, and it wouldn't do much good for her to back out now._ _It felt weird for Vic to be coming into the hospital on her off day, but again, Lexi had demanded that she come to the doctor and come to terms with what had happened. All she needed was to come in, talk to healer Chang about what she already knew, and go back to her bed and go to sleep. She walked into the waiting room and signed in before sitting in one of the very comfortable chairs. If these chairs were going to be a part of this process, maybe she'd come to these appointments more excitedly. Heck, she might even come to this part of the Hospital for her lunch breaks just to sit in this very chair. She barely even had time to become one with this chair before one of the nurses came in asking her to come to the doctor's office. She could never catch a break. Begrudgingly, she picked herself up from the chair and shuffled her way into the sickeningly white office._

_"Go ahead and have a seat on the table, Miss Weasley." Vic knew the look she was giving this idiotic nurse wasn't anything close to friendly, but she hadn't been called a Weasley in a while_. "_I just have a few questions that I need you to answer before you can see the doctor. Have you been feeling nauseous or ill lately?"_

_"Obviously."_

_"Are you currently taking any medications I should be aware of?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Do you have a history of-"_

_"For Merlin's sake, Jackie, you know the answers to all these questions; they're in my profile for Healer training."_

_"I'm just trying to be thorough Vic-"_

_"And I'm just trying to get out of here." she pleaded. _

_"Right, well the doctor will be in with you any moment Ms. Weasley."_

_"It's Lupin. I got married, remember?" Vic asked, as she wiggled her ring finger in the air. The ring was Victoire's second favorite thing in the world, with Teddy being the first of course._

_"How could I forget? " the nurse sneered, "It was plastered in articles all over the prophet."_

_"Yeah, and I bet you read every single one of them." Vic said as she rolled her eyes. "Dr. Chang please?" People had made a bigger deal about her eloping than was necessary. They had made a decision on a whim and it was spontaneous and romantic and fulfilling, and everyone had tried to ruin it. They had had a beautifully cheesy ceremony in Las Vegas and it had been perfect, until they got into their hotel room. There had been a very vulgar and expressive howler waiting for them that put a pretty big damper on their honeymoon. So to avoid their judgments they had taken an extended honeymoon to Sicily, where some extended family members of Teddy's father had lived. It was a good way for them to ignore the drama they had created and Vic was happy, so she could care less what people had to say about her marriage. Especially nosy, good for nothing nurses like Jackie Beauxprie._

_Instead of replying, Jackie flipped her hair and walked out of the room quickly. Great, now all of the nurses were going to know about Victoire Lupin's nasty attitude. The nurses around here were so gossipy and nosy that Vic couldn't take any of them seriously. Personally, she thought they liked to give her a hard time because her mother was the director of the hospital, her Aunt Hermione was the Chief Mediwizard and her Uncle Harry was a generous donor. They tended to give her extra work or try and get her down, and in return she had almost offended the entire hospital staff now, which would look great on her evaluations at the end of the year. She heard a knock on the door and was instantly confused. Why was the Healer knocking on her own door?_

_"It's your office, feel free to come in." she said with her eyes closed._

_"Now Victoire, that's no way to talk to people." she heard a familiar voice say, " I thought the nurses were exaggerating, but you really do have a bit of an attitude."_

_"Aunt Hermione!" she screamed, jumping off of the table, "What are you doing here? I had an appointment with Healer Chang."_

_"She's out sick, and when I heard you were coming in I decided to take over her appointment. I feel like I never see you and we work in the same place. Why didn't you schedule your appointment with me?__"_

_"I don't know, I figured you'd be busy."_

_"That's never stopped you from popping into my office before. It's just a check-up, no need to hide in a separate wing of the hospital just to avoid me." she said light-heartedly. This was possibly the worst thing that could be happening. She didn't want her aunt to feel like she was avoiding her, but she couldn't tell the truth about why she had come to this wing without her figuring out what was up. _

_"I promise I'm not avoiding you, I just think it's best if I see Healer Chang."_

_"Well, I'm sure she's...efficient, but I'm fully capable of handling this appointment. I've only been a Healer for 12 years. Now, what are you coming in for?" __Vic took a moment to seriously weigh her options. She could tell the truth and have to pray her Aunt wouldn't tell anyone, or she could try and get a lie past the human lie detector. Either way, she'd more than likely end up in trouble. She'd tell the truth, but under one condition._

_"You have to promise not to tell anyone." she pleaded. That was the only way she was going to tell her secret, otherwise she'd bolt and see how far away she could get without being caught._

_"I don't know, I kind of feel like I'm making a deal with the devil-"_

_"You have to promise or I'll just reschedule with Healer Chang. That's the deal, take it or leave it."_

_"Fine, I won't tell." She agreed._

_"Ok. And by anyone I mean Uncle Harry, because he's terrible at keeping secrets and Ginny will talk it out of him and then I'm dead."_

_"I got it Vic, what's wrong?"_

_"Oh you know," she said slowly, trying to make it seem like it wasn't that big of a deal, "I'm just pregnant."_

* * *

><p>"Aunt Hermione," Vic whined. "It's so hard to get this Potions assignment done being pregnant. All the names of the ingredients are making me want to barf."<p>

"That's just the morning sickness honey, you'll be fine."

"Morning sickness my ass, it's like, 3 p.m. All I want to do is go to sleep in my favorite chair, but I can't finish this assignment because every time I see the words 'bat spleen' I want to puke. I just don't know how people can do it."

"Well sweetheart, most people are done with things like Potions assignments by the time they get pregnant."

"Har har." she said sarcastically, as she closed her book and put her hair up. "How on earth am I supposed to do this?"

"Well for one, you've got to tell someone you're pregnant."

"I meant ahow am I supposed to do the assignment. And I have told someone; I told you." she rationalized. No one had really been asking her questions so she hadn't had to tell anyone. The only reason Hermione knew is because she was the one who had given her the check-up.

"Yes, but you wouldn't have if Cho had been able to give you your check-up, or if you were friendly with any other doctors. And there is a specific someone that helped make that baby who I'm sure would appreciate knowing this information."

"I can't tell Teddy yet. How would I even start that conversation? 'Hello love, how's work? What are the kids up to? Oh yeah, I'm _pregnant.' _No, I'm not telling him now."

"Victoire, come on now! I know we can joke around but this isn't a big joke, this is serious honey. You're caring for another human being now and you've got to start being responsible."

"Don't you get it? Clearly I'm _not_ responsible. We all thought I was, but that was clearly a cover for what an apparent nutter I am!"

"Vic, you're not a nutter."

"I'm not? I spent my sixth year acting like a complete whore to make Teddy jealous, but the joke was on me. Then I pushed him away even further when I could have had him, and when we finally did get it together I ran off and eloped like an idiot and pissed off the entire family-Lily didn't speak to Teddy for months because of me, by the way- and now I'm 19, married, and I got knocked up, and everyone's going to find out that I'm not perfect!" she yelled. She hadn't meant to yell, because Hermione was so sweet and understanding, but it was like her brain and her emotions were disconnected or something. It was either yelling or crying, and she didn't want her make-up to run.

"Listen to me. No one expects you to be perfect, but we expect you to always do the right thing and be your best. You've gotten into some tough situations, but that's life! You have to face your problems head-on; you can't ignore them or hide them from the people that care about you most."

"Sometimes I just think we didn't think any of this through all of the way. I love Teddy to death but honestly, we didn't think at all. Now I'm here busting my butt to stay afloat in this crazy program, and he's thousands of miles away at Hogwarts. How's that going to work if we have this baby? He's got so much going on, and he's always grading, and he just got done dealing with that fight-"

"Wait, what fight?" Hermione asked. Victoire kicked herself mentally for saying that. She was already acting like a mom; running her mouth when the kids had asked her to keep it a secret.

"Nothing serious. Just Dom and James, you know, the teenager thing." she lied. " Either way, I'm just going to add to all of that stress and worry and what if he doesn't even want a baby?"

"Stop making excuses Victoire. You two love each other and he's not going to leave you stuck out. Trust me. You've heard the stories of your Uncle Ron right? About how daft he could be?"

"Yeah, you guys talk about it all of the time."

"Teddy is noticeably more mature than Ron was at his age; I had to tell _him_ that I was pregnant twice and he was fine. Now I'm not saying that Ron isn't intellligent and responsible, but he's nowhere near as understanding as Teddy is. Everything will be fine."

"Alright, alright. I'll tell him."

"Sooner than later missy."

"I know, I promise."

"Good. And I just want you to know that you can come to me for anything and I love you."

"Thank you. And I love you too. I don't know how often people tell you this, but you're amazing." she said gratefully.

"I think you'd be surprised to know that I don't hear it nearly often enough." She said with a smile. "Now, get back to work. If you think this is bad, wait until you get to actually making the potions."

Victoire had taken everything her Aunt had told her into account and had decided to tell Teddy. She wasn't going to talk to him over the phone though, she was going to meet with him in Hogsmead. She needed to see his face when she told him so she could know for sure what his reaction was. Victoire had prayed to all kinds of gods or whatever was out there to be done with Hogwarts, but walking through Hogsmead was bringing back a lot of memories and made her realize how much she'd missed the place. She'd grown up here, had her first kiss here, and had her first butter beer here. This was her childhood, and now, more than ever, she wanted to feel like a child again. Hogwarts was like another home for her, and as she turned the corner to her Uncles joke shop, she decided she was going to visit more often. The place looked awfully dark for it to be a Saturday, but she walked in anyway, ready to tell Teddy the news.

"Hello?" she asked into the darkness. "Teddy?"

"Surprise!" she heard a bunch of people yell. When she recovered from the shock of being yelled at, she realized that almost all of her cousins and siblings and Teddy had gathered here to see her. It was insane how much she had missed all of them, even Dom with her new attitude. The feelings were so overwhelming that she couldn't stop herself from crying. She would blame it on the pregnancy, but even she didn't believe that. Her family rarely expressed any gratitude or appreciation towards her, so she couldn't explain how much it meant to her that they had wcome to see her, even if Teddy forced some of them. Vic was certain that no one in this family but Teddy had ever seen her cry, and she wanted to stop, but she couldn't. Everyone's expressions quickly turned from surprise to concern, and her husband was at her side within seconds trying to calm her down, while the rest of them stood around awkwardly.

"Tori, are you ok? What's wrong?" He hadn't called her Tori in a really long time and that made her cry even harder. "I know you hate surprises, it was the girls' idea-"

"No, it's really really sweet, thank you girls. I'm just...emotional." she said as the tears finally started to subside. "Where's everyone else? "

"Hugo, Louis and Lily aren't allowed to leave with it being their first year and all. Is that why you're upset?"

"No. I just had news for everyone and I don't want them to feel left out. You'll tell them won't you?"

"Of course." He said as he kissed her forehead. "They'll understand."

"Is it good news or bad?" Rose asked, "We could use some good news around here."

"No, no it's good...I think."

"Well what is it?" Dom asked, "I've got somewhere to be."

"Well, it's great to see you too little sister." she replied, trying to be as patient as possible. She had heard about her sister's little attitude problem, but she had thought Teddy was exagerating. Last time Vic had really spoken with Dom, everything had seemed fine. "What's gotten into her?" Vic asked the closest person, who happened to be Teddy.

"Not enough time in the day to explain." he whispered. "Ok, so what's the big news?"

"Well..." she said, thinking of the best way to put it, "Lily won't be the youngest in the family anymore. I'm pregnant."

"You're what?" the girls screamed in unison. Most of the boys seemed uninterested, just thankful to be out of the castle, but they all came around and congratulated her. It made her happy to see them so happy; like maybe they believed that she could do this.

"Oh my gosh, a little baby! How exciting!" Rose squealed.

"Teddy and Vic, expanding the family tree. I see we're long past our days of chanced looks in the hallways." Molly snickered. "Seriously Vic, you two work fast. Congratulations."

"Ugh, please don't talk about my brother...working." Al shuddered. "Congrats anyway."

"I knew it!" Roxy said knowingly. "That's the only explanation for Viczilla. Congratulations." Vic hugged her little cousin who wasn't so little anymore. It had seemed like just yesterday that her Uncle George was stumbling into their house saying that her Aunt Angelina was in labor. The kids had really grown up right before her eyes. She had endured hours and hours of fights, tears, and accidents dealing with her favorite people in this world. She'd had a good amount of responsibility in their childhoods and if she did say so her self, they had turned out to be a decent lot of kids.

"Yeah, congrats on bringing a baby into a home with a teacher that's never there and a Healer in training. Your kid might be dysfunctional, but at least it won't be ugly." Dom commented as she walked out of the door. "I'm out." Well, most of them had turned out decent.

"Well Ted," James started, "I'll go ahead and accept the title of Godfather beforehand." That boy was insane. There was no way she was making him the godfather of her child, but his comment had reminded her of how silent Teddy had been.

"Teddy?" she asked softly, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, we just- can we talk in private for a second?" he asked.

"Of course. Can you give us a second guys?" she asked as nicely as possible. Either they had finally decided to listen to her after all of these years, or they were being nice to her because of the pregnancy. Whatever the reason, they all walked to a different part of the joke shop or at least made an attempt to look like they weren't listening to their conversation. "Well, that was easy."

"I find them more manageable after a 3-week detention session. Maybe I should punish them more often."

"Oh, yeah right. With you they were probably playing Extreme Exploding Snap and gossiping. I'll probably be the stricter parent." He let out a huge sigh and leaned back in his chair like he was really thinking about something. This was the moment she'd been waiting for since she'd found out about the baby, and either he'd be thrilled, or…well, they were going to be having some issues. because whether he wanted it or not, she was going to have her baby. At first she had been a little iffy, but seeing her cousins all grown up and not really needing her anymore had set the decision for her.

"Parents?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I know it's shit timing and everything and I'm sorry-"

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. We can make this work, we just have to sit down and think it all out."

"So you're not mad?" she asked.

"Mad? No, I'm great. I'm excited really, just worried about you being home alone. How have you been feeling?"

"I've been fine so far. A little morning sickness here or there, but it's nothing major. I'm just worried about later on when I'm like crazy pregnant and all alone at home. I mean Lexi will be there, but it's not the same." she said as she fought back tears. She hadn't noticed how much she had missed him until now, and her emotions just weren't going to let her just have a normal, tear-free conversation with her husband. "I hate the stupid hospital and that it's so far away from here, and I miss being with you."

"I miss you too." he said as he soothed her. She calmed down almost instantly and it was relieving and frustrating and annoying all at the same time. She would probably have 10 million more of these moments, but he wouldn't be there to comfort her.

"Can't you just quit?" she asked, knowing the answer already. "McGonagall can find another stinking professor; I need you." She felt guilty for pulling the 'I need you' card, but it was the truth.

"You know I can't do that, Tori. Especially not now, we'll need the extra money."

"Technically, we don't need that much extra money. You've got what your parents left you and I've got my parents."

"Yes, we have that, but do you really want to raise our kids on our parents money?"

"No." she said, with a pout. "Ugh, I don't know how I do it. How did I get us into this mess?"

"Well, you didn't exactly get here alone. I helped too." he joked.

"This is no time to be proud of your baby making skills. What are we going to do? Do you think we can even raise a baby? Are you ready to lose my body?"

"You're not going to lose your body forever and we're not going to be 21 and 23 forever. We'll figure it out, because that what we do. Plus, the way I see it we've practically raised 11 children already."

"They only liked us because we got them away from their parents and we were older and "cooler." We won't be able to entertain the baby for an hour or two then give her back to her parents. We _will_ be her parents."

"Her? You keep saying her." he said with a small smile.

"Yes, her. I just have a feeling. I really think we can do this Ted, I just need to know for sure that you're in it with me 100%, good and bad, all the way."

"I know the situation with our jobs and living situation isn't ideal, but we can make this work. I've been in it with you 100%, good and bad since we were kids, since we stole those biscuits Grandma made; I'm here for you no matter how far away I work."

"And you're absolutely sure you want a baby?"

"No, I want _this _baby. I know I used to complain about it, but I really miss those sticky hands I used to always have to hold. Those sticky hands are now being used for fighting, dating, bullying and all kinds of things you don't want to know about."

"So you really want this? I'm just asking again to be 1000% sure."

"I want this more than anything in the world. I mean, I wasn't expecting it so soon, but I know that I want this." he kissed her so fiercely that it served as a bit of a reminder of how she'd ended up in this situation in the first place. "So, we're going to have a baby?"

"We're going to have a baby!"

* * *

><p><strong>So, anyone who guessed that Vic was pregnant was right! Yay! I know they're young and yadda yadda ya, but it happens. Thanks for all of the reviews and support! I appreciate it :-) I want one of the next chapters to be from someone that isn't a WeasleyPotter/Lupin but I can't choose, so I'd really apreciate if you all could help! My options are Chase, Lex, Hollis, and Linden. So, help me out by reviewing and saying who you'd like to see a chapter from! I know, I know, rambling...**

**-Jazz**


	7. Fall For You

**I heard everyone's opinions and everybody wanted a chapter from Lex and I'd been wanting to write him for a while! So, here's some Lex and Roxy for everyone that's been waiting!**

* * *

><p>"Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you<br>Over again  
>Don't make me change my mind<br>Or I won't live to see another day  
>I swear it's true<br>Because a girl like you is impossible to find  
>You're impossible to find"<p>

-Secondhand Serenade

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Are any of you actually studying?" Molly asked suddenly, interrupting the silence she and her friends hd maintained for well over two hours._

"_Not at all; I was waiting for one of you to cave." Lex admitted._

"_Good. I'm bored and I want to be clear-minded at the Ball tonight."_

_"When is your mind ever clear? I bet there's 50 things going on in there right this minute."_

_ "Shut up Carson. You wouldn't understand seeing as you're going stag tonight."_

"_Actually I'm not going stag. __Elaina McLaggen is going to be my date" He answered. Lex shook his head at his friend. He had made Carson promise to keep his mouth shut, but with him and Molly that was nearly impossible. Hecould lready see steam coming out of Molly's ears, and knew this wasn't going to be good. Elaina and Molly weren't the best of friends, and everyone knew that Molly had deeply hidden feelings for Carson. Well, everyone except for Molly. She was stuck on Chase, even though they'd all told her to rethink her situation. It wasn't that Chase was a horrible guy, he just wasn't right for Molly. She didn't need to be told what to do or chained down, and eventually being with Chase was going to make her snap._

"_Are you kidding me? Elaina McLaggen?"_

_"I kid you not, she's my date."_

_"What would ever possess you to go on a date with that foul beast?" Molly asked._

"_There's nothing wrong with Elaina__," he answered. "Plus, she asked."_

"_That's pathetic, and it means no guys wanted to go with her. It also didn't mean you had to say yes. Good grief, what about you Lex?"_

"_I'm going with either Carly or Marly Davies; I can never tell them apart._

"_Geez, what honorable friends we have; taking the sleaziest girls in our year to the ball." Madison said as she rolled her eyes._

"_The sleaziest, most disgusting girls." Molly added._

"_Don't hate, Mo." Carson teased, "You could've gone with me if you wanted too."_

"_Oh, shut up."_

"_Hey guys, can I speak with Molly?" a raspy voice asked. Lex could pick that voice out anywhere and he turned to be greeted by a girl that had really peaked his interest lately._

"_Hey, Roxy." he greeted politely._

"_Hi." She said with an eyebrow raised, like she wasn't sure why he was talking to her. Most people were thrilled to get a glance out of him, but she actually had looked disturbed. Interesting. He watched the two of them walk away and couldn't help but notice the sway of her hips and a bunch of other things he shouldn't be noticing about her. He'd seen a lot of girls in his time, but he'd never paid attention to one the way he did her._

"_Keep dreaming." Madison said with a smile. "She'll never go for you."_

"_I don't like Molly like that."_

"_Not Molly, you idiot. Roxy."_

"_Roxy? I wasn't looking at her." He lied. People couldn't actually know that he fancied someone- that just wasn't him. He had been with plenty of girls, but never in his life had he liked one as anything more than something to fill his time._

"_Yeah, right. So you didn't notice how blue her eyes looked today?" Madison asked._

"_See, you don't even know what you're talking about. Her eyes aren't blue, they're hazel."_

"_A__ha! You do fancy her." She resolved while Carson shook his head. That was a sneaky trick and he was too smart to have fallen for it. "Maybe you aren't completely incapable of love." She teased, making him squirm a little. "Aww, is that it? Is our little Lex is in love."_

"_Ugh, what have I told you about that word? I don't lo- I don't feel that way, I'm just aware of a true beauty when I see one and Roxy's hot."_

"_Roxy's what?" Molly called as she returned to the group alone. "Please tell me you didn't say hot"_

"_No, that's ludicrous. What did she want? Seemed urgent." He said as offhandedly as possible._

"_She just needed help getting ready for the Valentine's Ball. I can't wait, I've been dying to get some make-up on her, and she's going to look amazing." She gushed._

"_Wait, Roxy can't go to the ball, she's a third year." He said, not doing a great job of seeming uninterested._

"_Well obviously an older student asked her, genius."_

"_That's impossible, I know all of the guys in years 4-7 and none of them said they were asking Roxy."_

"_Well maybe one lied, because she's going. What's it to you anyway?"_

"_Nothing, I was just wondering who got a 'yes' from her. I've seen her turn down almost every guy at school."_

"_She's got standards, it's a good thing. Either way, I've got to go help her so I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna need as much time as possible."_

_Lex couldn't imagine that Roxy would need that much help. She had long dark hair and huge eyes that were frustratingly unreadable. Even when she was coming off of the Quidditch pitch, tired and exhausted, she was easily one of the most beautiful girls in school. Looks aside, she was charming as hell. It was clear that she never tried, but she captured the attention of all guys when she spoke. She was afraid to make fun of herself or joke around with people, and she had that sharp, sarcastic kind of humor that some people mistook for rude. How had he noticed that? Maybe he did like her more than he'd been letting himself believe, and now she was going to the Valentine's Ball with Merlin knows who. Or maybe he was just letting all this Valentine's Day stuff get to his head. Yeah, that was probably it._

_The rest of the day went by without another thought of Roxy. He and Carson had lounged around most of the day and he started to get ready about 30 minutes before he was supposed to meet up with Marly…or Carly. He didn't need that much work, because he was Lex Alvarez after all. He went down the stairs to meet his date when he noticed three things immediately: One, his date wasn't that great looking in her low-cut, sparkly, silver gown. She was exposing all the parts of herself that you probably wouldn't want any of your teachers to see. Two, Roxy looked amazing. Her hair was pulled back, showing off her distinct features, and she was wearing a soft white gown that made her look sweet and beautiful. Three, she was going to the ball with Grayson Goyle. Of all the blokes in the school, she had said yes to Grayson Goyle. Lex had always thought Grayson played for the "other team", and he was going to tell himself that that was the reason that he was bothered by him taking Roxy to the dance, not that he was jealous._

"_Feel free to look at me whenever you'd like," one of the twins said in her annoying voice. "I am your date after all; not Roxy."_

"_Of course I've looked at the most beautiful girl in the room." He said smoothly. He had looked at the most beautiful girl in the room, and it was not his date. "You look ravishing Carly."_

"_It's Marly."_

"_Marly. You know, I must have gotten you two confused, but now that I see you all dressed up I don't know how I could ever forget you." The girls giggled in response and he was glad that he was such a smooth talker. If not, he would have dug himself in about a million holes by now. Luckily, just like most of the girls he "dated" , she was ok with his excuse for forgetting her name. They really made it too easy. __Lex spent the majority of the Ball trying to duck his date. Carly, or Marly, or whoever she was had been all over him all night, and he was getting frustrated. The only thing less exciting than an easy girl is a clingy girl. Luckily it was time for them to announce the Prince and Princess, and he was able to put as much distance between them as possible._

"_Ladies and Gentleman," the Head Girl said over the noise of the hall, "please settle down so we can announce this year's Valentine's Prince and Princess." Lex knew there was a strong possibility that he'd be chosen as Prince. He'd voted for himself twice, and Marly or Carly had too; plus there weren't many other good options. "This year's Valentine's Day Prince is…Lex Alvarez, and joining him as Princess is…Roxanne Weasley." _

_Lex couldn't help but look up at the sound of her name. He had barely seen her all night, and now he was going to get to dance with her. Now he had a reason to talk to her and she wouldn't be able to weasel away with everyone watching. He must have been staring at her pretty hard because Carly and Marly and almost every other girl in the room were staring daggers at him. He was so shocked that he had to be pulled out of his trance by Molly's cheering. Roxy looked surprised and a little embarrassed, and he took a few breaths before coming up to her and grabbing her hand. He was pretty composed, aside from the fact that he was grinning at her like a Cheshire cat._

"_Well well well, Roxanne Weasley. I don't believe we've officially met; much to my misfortune." He said as he pulled her as close as possible_.

"_Alexander Alvarez, I've heard loads about you." She said with a smile. He knew she wasn't exactly complimenting him, but looking at her smile was making him copy her actions. "No need to get all big-headed, none of them have been particularly good things." There was that cutting conversation that had intrigued him from the start._

"_Feisty; I like it. But you shouldn't listen to rumors, they have a tendency to be a bit exaggerated." _

"_So you haven't snogged every girl in your year?" she challenged. She definitely had him there; but it wasn't his fault. Carson had bet him a long time ago, and he was no loser. Plus, Molly and Madison hardly counted._

"_Well…yes, but not all of them at once. I'm not a monster; unless you like that." He teased. As expected she smacked him on the back of the head, earning a laugh from their audience._

"_You better behave or this dance will be cut short." Hmm, a girl that appreciated manners. This was new._

"_Oh come on Roxanne, I'm just joking around."_

"_It gives me the greatest pleasure to be the first person to tell you that you aren't funny." She was quick with her comebacks. He really liked that; she was smart._

"_I'm not that bad."_

"_True, but you're not that great either."_

"_Ouch, way to knock a guy down." He said, pretending to be hurt._

"_What can I say? I love bursting people's bubbles." _

"_So I've noticed." He admitted, even though he was still smiling. "But enough with the pithy banter; I should tell you that you look ravishing. It's taking everything in me to continue being a gentleman right now."_

"_This is you being a gentleman?" she asked sarcastically. "Wow, I'm honored."_

"_Oh Roxy, whatever am I going to do with you?" he said, although he regretted. Thinking of some of the things he'd like to do with her was causing some inappropriate action down below._

"_Nothing if I can help it." She grumbled. He took this opportunity to regain his composure, since she seemed to be bored with attacking him verbally. They continued dancing, even though their one song was over, but he wasn't going to complain. He did notice that one of their hands were getting sweaty, and he hoped it wasn't his. She had started to really lean into him, and he noticed that she was staring off into space dreamily._

"_What are you thinking right now?" he asked._

"_Honestly? I'm thinking that they need to get better food at these things. The heart shaped finger foods are cute and all, but I'm hungry." She was real, too. He was really starting to like this girl. _

"_You know what? You're not like other girls Roxanne. You're sassy, smart, and athletic, a bit of a challenge… I like you." He confessed. He really hoped the look she was giving him resembled flattery that she was trying to hide, rather than boredom._

"_And I'm supposed to believe that you like me after waltzing around for three minutes? Keep dreaming." _

"_How do you know I just started liking you? Maybe I've been admiring you afar." He admitted_.

"_I don't believe you." Of course she didn't. Clearly he was going to have to do something drastic to convince her._

"_Believe this." He said as he dipped her and stared straight into her eyes. He considered pulling her back up and not doing this, but by that time his lips had already met hers. He didn't close his eyes, and true to character neither did she. It was overwhelming, and intense, and intimate in a way he'd never been intimate before, because this wasn't about sex; he really connected with her. She began to blush nervously, but she held on tightly to his arms as he pulled them back to an upright position. "Like I said, I like you. I'll go get us drinks."_

_Lex walked away feeling really good. Not only had he talked to Roxy, he had kissed her and she hadn't punched him in the eye, nor had Teddy tried to hex him. Everything was going great and-_

"_Lex!" a squeaky voice screamed from behind him. "I can't believe you kissed that little-"_

"_Not here." Lex interrupted, as he grabbed her hand and led her into the hallway. Not only did he want to avoid causing a scene, he didn't want to hear whatever bad words she was about to say towards Roxy. "What are you yapping about now Carly?"_

"_It's Marly."_

"_It's annoying." He responded quickly. This wasn't Roxy though, so she wasn't going to take it lightly._

"_Annoying? You weren't saying that a week ago when you asked me out-"_

"_Listen C- Marly, I think you're a really nice girl and all but-"_

"_Oh no, you're not about to dump me like this." She said angrily. She grabbed him by the collar and kissed him so hard that he nearly fell over. For such a small girl, she packed a lot of punch. He could barely let go of her, let alone register the burning smell coming from the door. Lex used all his strength to pull his face from Carly, just in time to see Roxy storm off. So she had seen the kiss. Great. He was about to turn his attention to the flames at his feet, but Carly quickly took care of that by stepping on his foot bluntly. Well, the fire was definitely gone from his foot, but he wasn't about to let the girl that had lit that fire get away._

* * *

><p>Lex liked to think about how much things had changed since that night. Firstly, they were together now, and secondly, well, that pretty much was the only thing that had changed. They were still the best-looking couple to ever grace this school, they were still crazy about each other, and she was still lighting (less literal) fires within him. Roxy made Lex feel nervous, and affectionate, and good; she made him feel a lot of things that had never been associated with him before she came into his life. She was the best thing that could have happened to him and he had every intention of making this last. He had never been in a serious relationship before, but neither had she, so they were figuring it all out together.<p>

She wasn't like most girls and he really liked that. She didn't spend hours getting ready and caking on make-up, but she still took his breath away when she entered a room. She had a decent appetite, so he didn't have to hear her babbling about calories and things like that. She was also hilarious, so they never had a dull moment, and more than anything she was truly and genuinely a good person. She was constantly putting others before herself and she had a knack for seeing the best in people, even when they didn't deserve it. She liked people to think she was tough, but she generally had a soft spot for people and gave everyone a chance. Now, she wasn't big on second chances, but you did get a first. And if you didn't make her out to be a fool for giving you that chance, you got to experience the sides of her that she didn't share with many people. He liked that he could hang out with his friends, and she could hang out with hers, and at the end of the day they would be perfectly fine. They also didn't have to be all over each other in public; she knew how much he liked her, he didn't need to prove it to anyone else by snogging her all over the castle.

There were a lot of moments he could point out that he had enjoyed, but these, when it was just the two of them alone, were his favorite. Either when they were walking to class, playing a pick up game of Quidditch, or when they would fall asleep talking and she would wake up by his side. Today, they had been studying for their classes when they fell asleep in his room on accident. As always, he had woken up first, but instead of waking her up, he just sat and watched her silently. Roxy was going to kill him when she woke up and realized they had fallen asleep, but she'd gone crazy with studying for her O.W.L's and she deserved a break. She was more or less peaceful when she slept; it was a complete 180 from the brazen, sharp tongued, sassy Roxy she was most of the time. She always started out curled up in a nice ball, but usually she spread out over time and her hair would be splayed wildly around her so perfectly that he wondered if she placed it that way. She was beautiful regardless, but he liked her best in these secret moments they shared. It was a version of Roxy that only he and maybe Molly had seen, and it showed how comfortable she actually was with him.

"You're staring." she said with a yawn, "stop it.".

"I'm not staring, I'm gazing." She didn't say anything for a while and he thought she'd gone back to sleep, until she opened one eye and smiled.

"Well stop gazing you weirdo, it's creepy."

"It's romantic." Clearly she didn't agree, because she only grunted in response as she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. He could help her with that. He moved from his side of the bed and was hovering over her, with his hands on either side of her pillow. "Wake up." He kissed her on the nose quickly before rolling on top of her to get off of the bed, making sure to put as much of his weight on her as possible without actually hurting her.

"Ow, Lex! You weigh a ton!" she said, shoving him off of her the rest of the way. "I liked it better when you were staring-"

"Gazing." He corrected

"Creeping. I can't believe you'd just watch me sleep instead of waking me up to study, now I don't have time to study before I have to patrol! _And_ I have to patrol with Carly Davies, not a good day."

"Well, your day just got better, because you're not patrolling with her."

"Please don't kid; you know I can't take a joke when I first wake up."

"I'm not kidding; I traded with her and she's patrolling with her sister, so we both dodged very annoying bullets." She jumped up and tried to kiss his cheek, but was too short to reach. He helped her out by bending down and kissing her hair, that usually smelled like vanilla and honey.

"I guess if I _have _ to be stared at in my sleep-" she started as she jumped in his arms. "It might as well be by the most amazing boyfriend in the world."

"Lucky you." He began trailing kisses down her neck and he was visibly upset when she stopped him.

"None of that right now, we have to patrol."

"I know, I just can't get enough of you. I don't think it's healthy."

"What have I told you about time and place, Alvarez?" she said as she smacked him on the butt. "Let's go." They linked hands and walked out of the dorms into the common area.

"Where are you love birds going?" Molly asked.

"Patrolling."

"Is that what they call it these days? I like to just stick with a good old fashioned shag." Dominique teased. Actually, Lex wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. He'd definitely heard the rumors flying around school about Dom's new 'bad girl' image, but he wasn't sure how true it was.

"We're actually going to patrol Dom." Roxy cut in, "And you better not know anything about shagging."

"I know more than you. Have fun patrolling." Dom said as she walked put the room, making sure to wink at Lex before walking away. For lack of a better phrase, Dom had been on some other shit lately. To Lex's knowledge, Dom hadn't had a boyfriend for more than a month at a time so if she had really been having sex, Dom was a lot worse off than Roxy thought.

"Mo, you have to talk to her." Roxy begged. "Nobody was losing their minds when Teddy or Vic was the oldest; we suck at this."

"I'm not talking to her about anything. I simply asked her if I could borrow some lip gloss yesterday and she told me there wasn't enough in the world to cover my big mouth. So _you _can try and talk to her about her sex life if you want but proceed with caution."

"Yeah, I'll think about it. We've got to go." Roxy said as she walked towards the door. He and Roxy made their way to the 6th floor where they were supposed to be patrolling, but he could tell she was still caught up on the whole Dom thing. "You don't think Dom has been having sex do you? I mean, she's barely 14."

"Well, Molly was like 15-"

"That's not the same! Molly was in a steady relationship, and Dom changes boyfriends quicker than the stairs move. Plus, Molly was practically 16."

"Practically 16, barely 15…I mean, I don't think it's _that_ bad, or that far off." He resolved, fearing where this conversation could go.

"I just don't think she knows what she's getting herself into, she's-"

"Perfectly capable of making those decisions for herself. I'm sure if she wanted your opinion she would have asked. Plus, she's around the same age I was and I turned out fine."

"Really? How old were you?"

"Don't get all judgy, I was 14 and I had needs that had failed to be met. Times were rough."

"Oh please, you're so full of it. Who was she? Do I know her?" This was one of the things he had hoped to never talk about with her. His old ways had nothing to do with her and he didn't want her getting all upset over things she didn't need to worry about.

"Rox, do you really want to know all this?"

"Yes, I want to know." He sighed and rubbed his head before continuing. He had to answer truthfully and he might as well just get it over with.

"Honestly? I don't remember her name. It was during the summer at one of those stupid outdoors camps. We were bored."

"So you don't remember her name and only did it because you were bored? How romantic." The two of them continued walking, but you could cut the tension between them with a knife. For a second, in their tiny new couple bubble, Lex had let himself forget about his past. He forgot that he wasn't some perfect, good guy, and that he used to go through girls very quickly. He knew she always said that was in the past, but "the past" was only like 3 years ago. When you thought about it, it hadn't been that long ago at all.

"Alexander?" she asked timidly. Oh shoot, she'd called him Alexander, which meant a serious conversation was coming up.

"Uh oh. You don't call me that unless I'm in, trouble. Whatever it is I'm sorry, you're right, it'll never happen again."

"Don't dig yourself into a hole there buddy, you're not in trouble. I just have a question."

"Ask away."

"What made you change?" she asked. That was a really good question; but there wasn't really a simple answer.

"What do you mean change? Like over the last few years?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for the new you; I just don't get it. You used to be so arrogant and I'd see you with new girls every week! You've made a good number of girls in my year cry and ruined a few relationships, then there's the thing at the camp, and that's only the stuff I've heard about. I just…it just doesn't make sense to me that you could go from that to _this._" She had kind of lost her cool there and he was a bit taken aback by her outburst. It wasn't like she was wrong, he just didn't know how much it had been bothering her. "Sorry, we don't really have to talk about it-"

"No, I'm going to answer, I just don't want to say it wrong." He answered slowly. He could tell she was having a hard time letting him work through what he wanted to say, but he really didn't want to start an argument. They had never really had any talks about anything serious, and this was a pretty big topic for their first serious talk.

"Why don't we take it slow." She suggested, "Just start off by telling me about how things were back then."

"Well, things were good honestly. Before I came here I was just this skinny, snobby kid that was OCD about his appearance. Back home I was nothing special when you consider my 2 older brothers, Tristan and Xavier. They were good-looking, older and stronger, they always picked on me, and it was awful." He said laughing.

"I didn't know you had brothers, you never told me about them." _And with good reason._

"Well they're 26 and 28, so you wouldn't know them. Teddy might have been at Hogwarts during Xavier's last year or something. But either way, I always felt unimportant compared to them, but when I got here it wasn't the same at all. I was getting better grades than people and making friends, and girls were paying me attention; it was all new exciting and I guess it went to my head."

"You guess?"

"Alright, it definitely went to my head. It was easy to grab girls' attention, I didn't really have to do anything. Then once one or two girls wanted me everyone else did too. It was crazy. I could have anyone I wanted and I didn't care who I hurt because there was always another waiting to be with me, and I was ok with that…at the time."

"And then?" she prompted.

"And then…I won Prince at the Valentine's Ball and the Princess completely took my breath away."

"Yeah, well; that was kind of my big debut." She joked.

"I said you took my breath away; I didn't say that was the first time it happened."

"Well when was the first time then? A few weeks before?" She really didn't understand where his feelings for her had come from.

"No, I've always fancied you. Even when you were just a skinny little kid with bushy hair and a big mouth, I always admired your spirit, and the fact that you never let people's remarks get to you. You stood up to people in a way that I never did with my brothers and I was completely smitten. I even asked Molly to hook us up once in our fourth year."

"You're kidding." She said unconvinced.

"I can tell by the look on your face you think I'm lying, but I'm not. I really have liked you all this time and it was just my luck that we had to dance together at the ball, otherwise I'd never had mustered up the courage to ask you out myself. We started dancing and I tried flirting, but it didn't work at all. You were just as proud and snarky as you always were and if anything it made me like you more so I kissed you-"

"And then you kissed that blonde tramp."

"And then that blonde tramp kissed _me_." He corrected. "I'm telling you, she looks tiny but she's got the grip of a squid."

"I'm sure she does." She said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well anyway, I asked you out a few weeks later and you said no. A lot. Each time you told me no it just made me crazier and crazier about you and for the first time I had to work to get something. You made me dig deep to find the best parts about me and then when you finally said yes, I could have paused that moment and lived in it forever."

"Me too." She said with a huge smile. "Are you happy?"

"Am I happy?" he asked, wondering how she still couldn't see just how she made him feel. " I'd venture to find someone happier than me. Are you happy?"

"Yes. I'm insane, singing in the shower, skipping to class happy." She said before reaching up on her tippy toes and kissing him. "I'm very happy and I love being with you."

"I lo- me too." He was going to say he loved being with her too, but that just didn't seem like enough. He didn't just love being with, because he felt like they were more than that. He felt something way stronger than that towards her, he just wasn't sure exactly what that was. Deep down he knew it, he just couldn't admit it. She made him feel vulnerable; like he'd opened himself up and let her all the way, but at the same time she made him feel secure and safe. He'd built up a pretty solid guard for 17 years, and Roxanne Weasley had simply walked through it. More like she saw through it. She'd broken down his walls, climbed on in, and made herself nice and comfortable. One girl had figured him out and in return, he gave her a piece of him and she hadn't even asked for it. When they had kissed at the Valentine's Ball, and had looked into each other's eyes, he'd given her a piece of him he'd never given anyone else. Respect. She kissed him that day and then his life wasn't his own anymore. She was the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle that he didn't know hadn't been completed. Before, he didn't even know anything had been missing from his life, but when they were apart he could feel a hole that only she could fill.

"Why are you being so quiet?" she asked.

"Because, I have something to say."

"Well, go on, the suspense is killing me." She said as she bumped his hip playfully. If he was going to say this he needed to say it now, otherwise he might talk himself out of it.

"You asked me how I could change from how I used to be to how I am now, and the answer is you. You gave me a reason to be better, and made me fight for something for the first time in my life. You lit a fire in me, that just won't burn out. I'm crazy about you Roxanne, and I- I uh..I-" He knew exactly what he was trying to say, but the realization of what he had been feeling all this time was something close to feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him. His breaths became shallow and it probably looked like he was having a panic attack or an allergic reaction or something.

"Lex, are you ok?" she asked. He nodded his head, but he was still having a hard time breathing. He crouched down on the ground and she sat on the floor in front of him. "Seriously, what should I do?"

"Just…give me a… second." He said softly. She began to massage his shoulders, and he could feel himself calming down considerably.

"It's ok. Just breathe." She soothed as she laid her head on his shoulder. All this for three little words? She probably thought he was crazy now. They sat like that for a while, and he waited until he was sure he wasn't going to start choking to say what he needed to say. He could do this.

"Roxy?"

"Yes?"

"I love you." He said slowly. He wanted her to know that it may have taken him a while to realize it, and coming to terms with it , may have nearly killed him, but he meant it. She lifted her head up and he noticed a faint blush on her cheeks, which never happened.

"You love me?"

"Yes, I really do." He responded happily. He'd said it. He was so relieved to have gotten out those simple three words, it was actually kind of silly that he had denied it for so long. She had his heart now and she could either crush it, or keep it.

"Well is that all?" she asked with that killer smirk.

"Is that all? It's- I've never _loved_ anything before or even said it out loud as far as I can remember." He defended, " Excuse me if I'm kind of freaking out here."

"You've _never _said you love… anything?" she asked. He hadn't come from a family where you express your feelings.

"No. I've never had a reason to until now."

"Not to your parents, or friends, or brothers, or any of you ex-girlfriends, or your…owl?"

"My owl? No, no one. I've been thinking about this feeling towards you for a while now. Deep down I knew what I felt, but it was confusing because everyone's always telling me that I'm not capable of love. I didn't mean for it to come out like that, but I kind of lost control there." Obviously she was entertained by his free expression of emotions, but he was on a roll now; he might as well go ahead and propose.

"I love you too, if that makes this any less scary."

"I'm not scared Rox, just freaked out. You have a really weird effect on me and I know I have a tendency to screw things up. I'd just hate to lose you; I can't even think about."

"You're not going to lose me; don't ever even worry about that. I know we're young and people may think this is stupid, but I feel like this, what we have, feels like forever." She said shyly. "I love you. You don't have to say it back if you're still recovering from your attack, old man."

"You're a riot Weasley." He said as he leaned in to kiss her. Every time they kissed he felt just as excited and giddy as the first time when he caught her off guard at the Ball.

"So, you're capable of love, but can you say it twice?" she teased.

"I love you."

"Impressive. Think we can we go for three?"

"I love you." He'd tell her 10,000 times a day for the rest of her life if she wanted, he was just glad that she felt the same.

"Well, whoever said you're incapable of love is dead wrong." She said before she kissed him. "And I love you too, honey."

"Honey?" he asked, trying out the pet name. It seemed like something reserved for older couples, but he thought it fit.

"Yes. Honey. Did you know that honey is the only food that never expires?" she asked randomly.

"No, I didn't."

"Well, it's true. And I want us to be like honey; I don't want our love to ever die out." she said dramatically, like Molly or Madison would have.

"Wow. Would you like some wine with that cheese?" she hit him lightly, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Really? I'm cheesy? Says the guy who just literally had a heart attack."

"I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"Nope."

"Great. How sweet of you." Lex could feel that there would be few moments in his life that would top this one. He had told Roxanne Weasley thaat he loved her and she had said it back. Hearing her say those words was better than anything he'd ever heard in his life, and he's shout it at the top of his lungs no matter how cheesy it made him. What they had was stronger than some silly school crush or short term fling; what they had was real, and he hoped it was going to last forever.

* * *

><p><strong>I love Lex and Roxy :-)<strong>

**-Jazz**


	8. Runnin' Over Me

"I am sure I like it, till I find I don't  
>And I know things will be alright, till I think they won't<br>Minor complications never bother me  
>Except for when they do and then that is all I see"<p>

-Cheryl Wealer

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Rose was so excited that Teddy and Victoire had come to their senses and had a traditional wedding. It wasn't exactly traditional, but it was better than nothing at all. Unlike Dom, or Roxy, who wouldn't openly admit it, Rose loved love, and she loved Victoire and Teddy, no matter if they'd wanted them to be a part of their wedding or not. She loved the dress she had gotten to wear and that she got to dress up, because she never got a chance to actually look like a girl. Well technically she did, but she had always claimed to be too intelligent to stoop to the level of showing off her legs and arms and processing her hair to get guys' attention. She didn't have to do any of that anyway because there was only one guy she wanted attention from and he seemed to like her just the way she was. She and Scorpius were best friends, they always had been, but everyone had always expected them to get together and she kind of let their nagging get to her head. She knew they were young and had time to sort all these things out, but Scorpius had changed significantly over the past year and she knew that the other girls in her year were going to start seeing him differently. Honestly, she was starting to see him differently. So much so, that she had put on lipstick today, even though he hadn't shown up to the wedding to see it. She was distracted from her musings when she heard a knock on her door. Thinking it was Hugo she screamed at the door, telling him to go away._

_"Well, that's no way to talk to your best friend." a deep voice answered as they opened the door anyway._

_"Scor? Oh my god, what are you doing here?" she yelped. _

_"Well, Teddy is my cousin and he invited me." He said smartly as he encased her in a bone crushing hug. "I know I'm a bit late, but that's no reason to knock me off the guest list." He put her down and she wasn't sure if she was dizzy from the hug, his proximity, or his cologne. She was going to bet that it was because of the hug._

_"That's not what I meant; I know you're here for the wedding. What are you doing my room?"_

_"Your room? I thought it was Ron's."_

_"Sneaking up to this room and calling my dad by his first name? Feeling bold today I see. And it was his room when he was younger, so by default, it's mine too."_

_"How territorial of you."_

_"And rightfully so! It's hard to claim anything in this family so I'll take what I can get. You've still not answered my question; what you're doing here though."_

_"Just taking a personal tour." he said sarcastically, "I'm up here looking for you! Everyone else is down at the reception. Your parents were arguing over whether I should be allowed to come up at get you, so I snuck up. Is this a bad time? Hiding a secret boyfriend in here?"_

"_You're mental. I'm not hiding anyone, you just startled me is all. I thought you were Hugo."_

"_Yeah, I see where you could get the two of us confused."_

"_Ok smart ass, I'm ready to go down. That is the reason you came up here right?"_

_"Yes." He answered as he eyed her suspiciously._

"_What? Do I look like a clown?" she asked._

"_Quite the opposite. You look very pretty, though I'm sure you already know that." he complimented. It was no question that she didn't take compliments well, but this was absurd. She could only snort in response at the thought of someone finding her to be 'pretty.'_

_"Yeah, right. With Molly and Roxy running around no one's even noticed." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, turning her face a deeper shade of red than her lipstick._

_"I noticed. But then again I notice everything about you, you being my best friend and all." She rolled her eyes and because he had done that thing where he did something romantic or nice and then pulled the best friend card. It was so frustrating and she never knew exactly where she stood with him on a "relationship" level. She was so confused about how she felt and she normally wouldn't ask this, but she needed to talk to one of the older girls._

_"Whatever you say. Let's go."_

_He opened the door for her and she did her best to not make an idiot of herself trying to walk in the high heels she'd been permitted to wear. She had almost been forced to wear flats like Lily and Lucy, but begged her mom to let her wear heels instead. Of course her mom had protested, but Victoire had helped them come to a compromise. Her parents allowed her to wear heels, but they were nowhere near as high as the ones Molly, Dominique, and Roxy were wearing. They weren't as high but they were still definitely hard for her to get used to and she did not want to bust her butt in front of Scorpius trying to get around in them. Thankfully she made it down the stairs and into the garden where the reception was being held. The pair walked outside and were thrust into the madness that was her life. _

_"Hey Malfoy, we've got an extra deck of cards!" James yelled, "You in?" Rose had always been surprised at her family's acceptance of Scorpius. James only teased him lightly, in the way that he would with Al or Hugo, Fred wasn't the type to judge people without getting to know them anyway, Dominique paid him no attention unless they were in a big group and the younger kids adored him. Especially Louis, who was glad to be around another guy with blonde hair._

_"I'm always gavailable to kick your butt in this stupid game. You wanna play Rose?" he asked._

_"Nah, I'm good. You go on." He ruffled her hair quickly before walking over to the boys to play cards. So they'd down graded from a kiss on the cheek to hair ruffling...now she was really confused and needed to find someone to talk to fast! Teddy and Vic were her best bet, but they were making googly eyes on the dance floor, so she figured she'd find someone else._

_Molly and Chase were in the corner fighting as usual, so she wouldn't be getting any advice from her. The boys were all hopped up on sugar and playing a game of Extreme Exploding Snap, which was a different version of the game they'd created years ago where they use as many decks of cards as there are players in the game. So because six of them playing, there were six times more of a chance to get your face burned off. It was safe to say Rose didn't play often, and it's not like any of them could give her sound advice anyway. Dominique was sitting at one of the tables by herself, but she was probably the worst to ask for anything. She had been in a bad mood ever since last year when she had stopped hanging out with Carter, James and Fred, and would either tell Rose to leave her alone or just make her feel stupid for asking in the first place. Lucy and Lily were twirling around in their dresses and they probably didn't know anything about boys anyway. That left Roxy, who kept looking at the garden's entrance, but wasn't otherwise occupied. She had been in a long, steady, relationship with Lex; she'd probably have some good advice._

_"Roxy!" she called over the noise in the room, as she made her way to the chair Roxy was lounging in. "Can I ask you a question?"_

_"Of course, shoot."_

_"Well, it's about boys...well one boy."_

_"Would this one boy happen to be in the room now?" she asked with a smirk on her face._

_"No fair! That would give it away because 99% of the men here are family!" she screamed_

_"No need to answer, you outburst was answer enough." Roxy said with a laugh. Rose loved that Roxy was always so cool about things, it was hard to not be in complete awe of her ._

_"Fine, he's in the room." she said blushing. It was embarrassing enough to have a crush on your best friend that didn't really notice, but now she had to confess it to the girl who could have any guy she wanted._

_"Don't be embarrassed. We've all had our little crushes Rosie."_

_"Well yeah, but this is different. I think I really like him and he only sees me as a friend. I mean, there are times when it seems like more, but I don't know."_

_"Rose, you're definitely not the first one of us to go through that. Don't believe it for a second."_

_"Really?"_

_"Molly, Vic, Dom, me, hell, even your mum."_

_"You?" she asked in disbelief. There was no way anyone had ever denied Roxy. She was...perfect! And not in a Victoire kind of perfect, where she worked hard to make everything seem effortless and did everything right, but actually perfect. She was smart, tall, pretty, athletic, confident and funny and she didn't even try._

_"Oh my goodness, yes! I was only the most awkward little girl on this planet!" she said with a huge smile. It must be nice for your awkwardness to only be a phase, Rose thought. She, however, was in it for the long haul. "But anyway, the best thing for you to do is to come right out and ask him how he feels. The unrequited love thing is cute and all, but it wastes time. Prime example, Victoire and Teddy."_

_"But, they just got married... twice."_

_"Well if you ask me they should get married once more for god measure after all they've been through. It's been nearly 15 years of them dating other people, denying their feelings for each other, and sneaking around. The only reason they're in this mess now is because they waited so long to act on their feelings and they got overwhelmed. So trust me, ask him now, or you might end up going rogue during your graduation speech and eloping." she teased._

_"I think it's romantic," Rose said with a wishful sigh, _

_"You have to admit, it will make a great story for their baby."_

"_Baby?" Rose asked, "What baby?"_

"_In the future. You know, when they ask how their parents got together."_

"_I still think it's romantic."_

_"It is romantic. In a Vic and Teddy-ish way. But that's because they're both selfless, over protective sops. You, on the other hand, are very particular and like to have all the facts laid out in front of you. Dancing around your feelings won't do it for you; you've got to buck up and tell him."_

_"Or you could completely ignore him and wait for him to come to his sense." Lex said as he wrapped his arms around Roxy. "Worked for me, it'll work for Malfoy if he wants you bad enough."_

_"Lex!" both girls screamed in response._

_"What? Is it supposed to be a secret that you're hot for Malfoy?" he asked artlessly._

_"Not exactly, but how did you figure it out?" Rose asked._

_"You spend every moment of your day with Malfoy and Al , so I hope, for the sake of your family' s reputation, that you're talking about Malfoy." She let herself laugh at that. She always forgot how smart and observant Lex was, underneath all that male bravado._

_"Promise you won't tell?" _

_"If you promise me you'll talk to him."_

_"I promise."_

_"Good." Roxy interjected. "And in the future feel free to come talk to me before it gets unbearable."_

_"Or me." Lex added, making Roxy roll her eyes. They really were an adorable couple._

_"If me or even Molly are not around, I suppose you can talk to Lex too. Regardless of who you come to, just make sure to talk about it. Things could have been a lot easier for me if I'd had someone to talk to."_

_"Thanks guys, I appreciate it."_

_"No problem. Good luck!" she answered, before leaving with Lex in a fit of giggles. Rose really appreciated the advice, and she didn't want to end up like Vic and Teddy, so she decided she'd talk to him now. He had clearly lost their card game, and was now standing on the dance floor with Al and Lucy. Lucy was loving all the attention she was getting from the older boys and seemed to be having a really good time. It almost made her want to turn away and not ruin their moment, but of course, Scorpius had caught her eye and motioned for her to join them. She made it to the middle of the floor, where he was dancing around in circles; clearly more to entertain Lucy than to impress._

_"I hate to ruin your fun Lucy, but can I have a word with Scorpius?" she asked._

_"Go on and take him; he's a horrible dancer."_

_"Hey!" Scorpius said as he walked away from Lucy, faking being hurt by her words, "I'm not terrible. Was I that bad?"_

_"No, you big baby. You were killing it out there."_

_"Hey, don't patronize me Weasley." he joked, "What's up?"_

_"I have to ask you a question...and I don't want you to freak out, just hear me out."_

_"I'm listening. And for the record, telling me not to freak out isn't the best way to get me to not freak out."_

_"Noted. Ok I… well I guess I should ask you...do you like me?" she asked bluntly. She wasn't good at being coy, or demure. She was blunt and honest, and it wasn't the least bit charming, but it was right to the point._

_"Is this a serious question or a joke, because if it's a joke I don't get it."_

_"Serious question."_

_"Oh. Well of course I like you. Why do you ask? Are you having doubts about being my friend?" he joked. He was always joking and she rarely joked. At times it could be funny, but when she was trying to be really serious about something it was just plain annoying._

_"No-"_

_"Or are you just jealous that I've been spending more time with Al lately?"_

_"No, I-"_

_"I get it, you you're now one of those girls that's wants to be complimented all of the time-"_

_"No! Can't you be serious for one second in your life? You immature, insolent, troll!"_

_"You're actually mad! Where's this coming from?" Rose was extremely frustrated and confused and she didn't really think it through all the way when she leaned over and kissed him. She wouldn't exactly call it a kiss; it was more like a wet, uncomfortable, attack of his face. She had had to lean over so far that she lost her balance or her high heels and fell even further into the awkward kiss. Luckily, Scorpius was able to catch her before she made it even more awkward than it needed to be. He pulled his face back, still holding her, forcing them to look each other in the eyes. She pushed back on his chest so that she was standing on her own. As far as first kisses went, that was probably the worst that it could have been. "Ugh, I'm sorry. That was stupid."_

_"No, it was-"_

_"Awkward."_

_"Yes, but we can-"_

_"Just forget about it. It was a mistake." she said quickly. This had been a horrible idea from the start. Scorpius probably had no interest in her whatsoever. She had probably just ruined everything._

_"It was a mistake?" he asked. She wanted to believe the look in his face was disappointment that she hadn't meant it; but that was probably just her mind playing tricks on her._

_"Yes. We're just friends."_

_"Do you kiss all of your friends?" he asked with a smirk. She was glad they'd be able to joke about this, even if kissing him had been the furthest thing in her mind from a mistake._

_"Yes, actually I do. I run around tripping over my own feet and kissing my best friends."_

_"So that wasn't your first kiss?"_

_"No." she lied. "Was it yours?"_

_"No. Who have you kissed?"_

_"Who have you?" she countered._

_"You're a terrible liar." he responded._

_"I take that as a compliment, and I wasn't lying." she said softly. This had all gone horribly. "You're not so great at changing the subject."_

" _Does Al know about all of these guys you've been kissing?"_

_"No. Why would I tell my cousin about all of the guys I've snogged. That would be very callous of me."_

_"Snogged?"_

_"Yes, snogged." she answered diligently. "Does Al know about all of the girls you've snogged?"_

_"Did you know that Al snogged Reid Longbottom?" he asked._

_"Why are you doing that? Why are you answering my questions with questions and avoiding the bigger picture?" she asked loudly, causing a few of the wedding guests to turn their heads her way. "Just forget it. Forget all of this; it's not worth it." she said as she began to walk away. He grabbed her arm quickly and all she could think was that he was one lucky bloke because she had left her wand in her father's old room._

_"What the hell do you mean a bigger picture?" he whispered harshly._

_"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, let go of my arm this instant or I will literally detach your arm from its socket." she threatened. He released her arm and pinched the bridge of his nose. Rose didn't get it. Scorpius was the most patient, fun-loving, kind person in the world; the only time he got angry was when he was with her. She swore she was the only person that dealt with this angry, nose pinching, huffing and puffing version of Scorpius._

_"What bigger picture Rose? You kissed me, told me it was a mistake, then told me about the other guys you've snogged. What in that has been lost in translation? Because I heard you just fine."_

_"Sod off Malfoy. I told you to forget all of that."_

_"I know you've got an insane need to be in charge and be right all of the time, but that's not the case. People weren't put on this earth to follow your orders and do things your way. You don't get to just tell me what to do Rose. You don't get to tell me to forget that you kissed me accidentally on purpose."_

_"Accidentally on purpose? That makes no sense! You think I tripped and fell on your slimy , skank-infested little lips on purpose? You think I was that desperate to kiss you?"_

_"Skank-infested? Says the girl who goes around tripping herself and kissing her friends. Your words not mine."_

_"Fuck you, Malfoy." she said as she willed a tear to not fall from her face. The same way she was the only person that he yelled at, he was the only person she had ever cursed at. He knew exactly how to ruffle her feathers, mainly because he was the only person capable of holding his own when arguing with her. _

_This whole night had been a fail and she wished she'd never talked to him in the first place. Not only had she kissed him, but she had also openly regretted it, tried to take it back, lied about it being her first kiss, accused him of being some kind of man whore, and cursed at him. She'd really botched this, but he was being- well, he was being himself. He was joking and teasing and trying to make light of an awkward situation and she had gotten frustrated. Instead of handling it like a normal person she'd over-analyzed everything and weaved a pretty tangled web. She couldn't help but feel like shit as he stormed away, making many of the wedding guests watch with interest. Of course this was the part they paid attention to. They got in arguments all the time, but this one hadn't been the same because deeper feelings had been involved. Feelings neither of them had been able to come to terms with._

* * *

><p>By the time Rose had finished relaying her story to Roxy and Lex, the two looked pretty sympathetic.<p>

"Don't give me those pitiful looks. It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" Lex asked, "Do you two even talk anymore?"

"It's hard not to, being friends with Al and being partners in class, but we haven't _really_ talked since then. He did apologize, I think Lily talked him into it."

"Lily?" Roxy asked confused, "Why would he go to Lily?"

"That's what I wanted to know. I went to go apologize after I'd regained my composure and couldn't find Malfoy anywhere. No one had seen Lily either and I figured she was in her little hiding spot. When I got there I heard the two of them talking."

"Scorpius and Lily?"

"Yes, Scorpius and Lily. What's the big deal?" Roxy and Lex looked at each other from the corners of their eyes, before Roxy answered.

"Nothing, that's just...weird. But go on, what happened after that?"

"Well I let them be and soon after he apologized for "being short with me' even though I was the one that should have apologized."

"No, you shouldn't have. He yelled at you and grabbed you. Fair is fair." Lex huffed. Rose couldn't help but giggle. Somehow Lex had become somewhat of an older brother to her. He was what James was supposed to be, but couldn't because he was too full of himself and childish. Ever since Rose had started getting closer to Roxy, Lex had taken to her as well. He was really a sweet and good-hearted guy, she didn't understand why he let people believe otherwise.

"He wasn't going to hurt me, I just make him lose his temper in a way that Voldemort himself couldn't" Rose responded, "Plus, I had initiated the fight anyway. I don't even know how we started fighting in the first place to be honest!"

"Partly because you didn't do what I told you to do." Roxy scolded, "You were supposed to tell him how you felt, not ask him how he felt about you."

"What's the fricking difference?"

"The difference is that you gave him an out. He able to avoid the question because you asked. If you had just told him how you felt you would have just gotten a yes or no or at least."

"But what if he'd have said no? What would I do then?"

"If he said no, you move on and continue being friends. Sure, it won't feel great, but would you rather know that it won't work out now, or get your hopes up for months or years and then get your heart broken?" Roxy asked softly. "Wouldn't that be much worse?"

"I suppose. But, I don't like anyone else. What if that was it for me?"

"You're 13 Rosie, there'll be other boys to come along and catch your eye." Lex answered sweetly, "And you still don't know that Malfoy doesn't fancy you; boys take longer to figure all that stuff out sometimes. You'll only know if you talk to him."

"I can't! I'm too embarrassed now."

"Of what? You were only best friends before your little fight, it'd be crazy for him to actually _want_ to speak to you again or dare I say miss you. If one little out of hand spat caused this much of a divide, you weren't great friends to begin with; and I know that's not the case."

"I may as well at least try and have a decent chat," she reasoned, "I don't think I could be more crazy than the night if Vic's wedding."

"What have you got to lose?" Roxy asked. "Go!"

Rose rolled her eyes as she shuffled towards the boys' dormitories to speak with Scorpius. Maybe she should stop asking Roxy for advice; the girl was just too brave for her own good and while her advice made sense, it didn't seem like she had ever been in a situation like this before. Rose felt like her entire world was on the line here. She could either gain a relationship, or lose a friend and possibly even her mind. She honestly couldn't even imagine that he'd want to keep being friends with her anyway. She was a bossy, hot-headed, potty mouth that had to be in control of every situation. She couldn't help it though! Her life at home was increasingly hectic and in turn she held a tighter grip on the things she could control like her school work and her friends.

"Knock knock," she said as she entered Al and Scor's room. All of their roommates were there, which wasn't awkward for Rose, because she hung out in their room all of the time. "Hello everyone!"

"Come to speak with Al?" Scorpius asked, "He's not here."

"Actually I came to talk to you. Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure, I guess." The two of them walked quickly and quietly out of the common room and she figured she might as well say something since she had dragged him out of his room.`

"Listen, I want to apologize."

"Apologize for what? I apologized at your Grandmother's house, everything's fine."

"Yeah, you apologized after Lily told you to-"

"Actually no. I decided to apologize on my own, although now that I know you were eavesdropping, maybe I shouldn't have."

"Get over yourself, I wasn't eavesdropping. As soon as I heard you guys I left!"

"It honestly doesn't matter. I apologized that day and I thought we were fine, but then when I got back to school you were still mad."

"I'm not mad, I was just frustrated and a little confused, because somehow I turned a simple question into a big argument. I couldn't talk to you afterwards because I was still embarassed."

"That's ridiculous. You don't have to be embarrassed around me, ever. It's just me."

"That's the thing Scor, it _is_ you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean...listen, I'm not going to dance around it this time because it ended so tragically the first time. I just don't know how to say this because I'm not sure if what I feel is real or if I'm just caught up in the hype."

"Oh. OH! You mean- about us, as in, us being more than friends?"

"Yes." she said relieved. So he had felt the pressure too; that made her feel a little better. "I know it's kind of crazy, but everyone just expects us to like each other and I think I started to."

"I don't know about everyone. There are two people I can name that are praying to Merlin we don't like each other."

"Our dad's?" she said laughing. "That doesn't count, my dad would die a happy man if I never had a boyfriend in my life."

"True."

"Aside from him, the teachers, our classmates, my family, everyone thinks that because we're best friends we're supposed to end up together because our dad's were enemies and mine told me specifically not to."

"What do you think?"

"What do you?" she asked quickly.

"We've got to progress from avoiding each other's questions by asking questions. It never works. So I'll ask again, what do you think about us and our destiny to end up together?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Sometimes I like you, and sometimes I feel completely neutral towards you. I think the times I like you outweigh the times I don't and it messes with my head. And sometimes the way you treat me, or the way you'll compliment me, will make me think that we're on the same page on the odd day when I am feeling more towards you. You see how I'm confused here?"

"Yeah, I get it. I'm sorry if I come off as hot and cold, but it's the same for me. Some days I'll be thinking you're the best friend I've ever had, and other days I'll imagine if we could be more. But then, someone will call me your boyfriend or ask when the wedding is and it'll throw me off."

"Please tell me you're joking. Has someone really asked you about us getting married?" she said as she laughed. That was one of the most ridiculous things she'd heard in a while. They were 13, way too young to think about marriage. Rose didn't even know if she ever wanted to get married.

"I wouldn't lie to you. I just, want to figure out my feelings for you on my own, you know? I want you to like me because you like me, not because you're rebelling against your dad."

"Yeah, I know. That'd be much easier if people didn't ooh and ahh every time we looked at each other."

"Every single time." He said with a laugh. "I mean, just because we're good friends and we're boy a girl, it doesn't necessarily mean we'll end up together."

"Exactly. There's Roxy and Goyle-"

" Your mum and Uncle Harry-"

"Katniss and Gale-"

"Who?"

"Doesn't matter. Just know that they were and are best friends, and they also did not end up together. But then again, they did kiss once."

"So did we." he shrugged, before reaching over and pecking her on the lips quickly. "Twice. Although you've kissed multiple other people so both of ours probably pale in comparison."

"About that- I kind of embellished about my kissing conquests." she said with a blush.

"Oh really?" he asked sarcastically, "Because I had no idea that you weren't serial kissing guys in the school. Glad you cleared that up for me."

"Oh shut up." she said as she hit him. "But you should know that I didn't technically kiss you by mistake either. I meant to do it."

"Well, I meant to kiss you back."

"Really? I thought you were just trying to de-awkward a really awkward situation."

"De-awkward? Hell must have frozen over if Rose Weasley is making up words."

"Will you stop joking please? I have more to apologize for."

"So sorry, please do continue."

"Not only did I kiss you on purpose, I kind of lied about all the guys I'd kissed."

"Thank goodness." he said relieved. "I was starting to think you were living some kind of double life that you weren't telling me about."

"Nope. Just plain old me."

"You're not plain Rose."

"You're biased. Best friends remember? But 'm officially done apologizing if you're ready to go back to your charming, hilarious self."

"Glad to have you back Weasley."

"Glad to be back Malfoy." Rose realized that she hadn't exactly done what Roxy had suggested, but she had received some peace of mind. They hadn't expressed any deep dark feelings, or become girlfriend and boyfriend, but she knew that the thought had at least crossed his mind and that she hadn't been over-analyzing things. He was just as scared of everyone's expectations as she was, he was just better at hiding it. They had time to figure all of that out.

"So, at the wedding, that really was your first kiss?" he asked, no games, no smirks, no jokes.

"Yes." she said blushing. He smiled back as he tucked a strand of her wavy hair behind her ear.

"Well, I guess I have things to apologize for too. Sorry you wasted your first kiss on me, Rose." he said softly, as he stood from the bench preparing to leave. " It should have been more special. With someone special." In that instant, Rose was confused again. She had just received "peace of mind," then he had to go and say that. Hadn't he heard anything she'd said? He thought that she'd wasted her first kiss, or that she should have shared with someone more special. What he hadn't realized was that she had shared it with the most special person in her life. Whether they ended up in a relationship or married or not, he'd always have a place in her heart. And that thought alone was enough to drive Rose crazy.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know a lot of people like Scorpius and Rose and a lot of people like Scorpius and Lily, but I like both. So I'm playing around with the ideas of both because I'm just indecisive and I value you guys' opinions lol So review and let me know who like more! There probably won't be another update this week because I have finals back to back and I should probably study. But with summer coming this story should really start rolling! Im excited!**

**-Jazz**


	9. Don't Speak

"Don't speak  
>I know just what you're saying<br>So please stop explaining  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts<br>Don't speak  
>I know what you're thinking<br>I don't need your reasons  
>Don't tell me cause it hurts"<p>

-No doubt

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly couldn't believe that she was finally on her way to Hogwarts. She had realized it on the train, obviously, but it wasn't until now, as they boarded the tiny boats, that it set in that she was actually going. As the boats floated out on the lake, Molly looked up at the sky and noticed just how big it was. She had finally gotten away from her neurotic father, over the top mother, and annoying sister. She no longer had to spend the majority of her time with her insane cousins and she was officially no longer one of the younger kids. She was at Hogwarts now and she would finally get the chance to shine for once without having to vie for attention all of the time. It wasn't like her family members intentionally made her look like the bad seed, they were all just extremely good. Not good behavior wise, definitely not, but just good characters you could say. They were all crazy and loud but at the end of the day they loved each other and were able to get along and share. Molly had not inherited those qualities. In a family their size it was rare to get something unique that everyone else hadn't also gotten in varying colors, so when she did, she preferred to keep said things to herself. _

_Somehow her love of having her own things had made her "selfish" and she had also gained the reputation of being the Weasley with the biggest mouth, who said the wrong things at the wrong times. Contrary to everyone's beliefs, she wasn't some crazy, gossip-obsessed air head that couldn't keep her mouth shut. She just hated silence and usually filled it by babbling about whatever came to her head. Big mouth or not, Molly was ready to start her life here at Hogwarts where no one knew her or had any crazy expectations. She would finally get a chance to be herself, whoever that may turn out to be. Who knows, maybe she was more of a quiet person than everyone thought. Like right now, she hadn't said a word since she stepped off of the train and it had to have been at least ten or fifteen minutes. Maybe only three, but who was really counting?_

"_What are you doing?" a boy from the boat she was riding in asked. What an odd question; it was pretty clear what she was doing._

"_I'm riding in a boat, unfortunately. Not that I don't want to be on my way to the school, but I'm just not too fond of boats."_

_"Really? Is this your first time riding in one?"_

_"This is the first time I've been in a boat this ancient and it only makes it worse. There have been like, millions of students in these boats; they can't be that safe. Although I'm sure since every one can use magic, they can put a spell on them or something. Is there a spell for that? I guess you wouldn't considering you haven't learned magic yet either. My cousins would know. Speaking of them, it's weird that we have to take boats while the other students take carriages. There supposedly pulled by invisible birds, but I think Teddy's full of it. Anyway, I don't like the idea of these boats. It's our first year, they should be rolling out red carpets and showing us their nicest thing, right? Like, why do they want our first memory of the school to be associated with riding in these rickety old boats? I wonder if any students have ever fallen in." she rambled, only stopping when the boy began to chuckle. "Oops, I'm talking a lot. I do that sometimes. What was your question?"_

"_I did ask a question, didn't I? It was what are you doing?" he said with a laugh. _

"_Oh yeah, well, I'm talking to you." She answered simply._

"_I meant before that, before you started talking to me."_

"_Oh, when I was looking at the sky? I was looking at the sky. I do that sometimes, too, along with talking a lot. Sorry."_

"_I can see that." Molly realized she had failed at not talking. Who cares, she didn't want to be known as quiet anyway. "Why look at the sky when you have this awesome, dark, creepy view to look at?"_

"_I dunno._ _I just like looking up. "_

"_Why?"_

"_I find the sky very interesting. It's like the same all the time but different every day. I know it sounds stupid, but I look at the sky a lot just to see how it's changed all the time. My grandma says I have my head in the clouds, but I told her that's practically impossible. According to Vic she was using a metaphor or something."_

"_Wow, you really do talk a lot."_

"_I think it's hereditary. My mother's kind of all over the place; I probablyget it from her."_

"_I usually talk a lot too if it makes you feel better."_

"_Really? Doesn't seem like it."_

"_Probably because you're doing all the talking."_

"_True. So, why don't you talk to me now? I'm all ears." she said, giving him her attention. He didn't seem too bad; maybe they could be friends._

"_You sure? Nothing else you want to slip in?"_

"_Nope, I'm done. My lips are sealed." She answered, making a show of locking her mouth and throwing the key into the lake. She sat there and waited but he never said anything, and she fought hard to not laugh. Luckily he laughed first, so she laughed too. He was funny without even saying anything._

"_Well I can't just start talking now, the pressure is too much." He joked_

"_The pressure of an 11 year old girl? I'm sure it's extremely daunting."_

"_Hey now, it's a lot harder than you think."_

"_Well you're an 11 year old boy and talking to you isn't hard at all."_

"_That's because you're different. Have you ever had trouble talking to anyone? Ever?" he asked._

"_Not really. I don't get nervous or embarrassed because what's the point really? Plus, when you get nervous you get all sweaty and I hate sweating. I don't sweat."_

"_You don't sweat? Impossible."_

"_Possible. I don't like it, so I don't do it. Do you often do things you don't want to do?"_

"_I guess I do sometimes, but sweating is a natural body function, I don't feel like that counts. I doubt that you can just not do it; it's like farting." Molly couldn't help but laugh at that. He was funny. "Why are you laughing at me?"_

"_Because you weren't lying about not being able to talk to girls. You usually don't want to bring farting into any conversation with one." He put up two hands in mock surrender._

"_I warned you! And you brought up sweating."_

"_Well if I'm grossed out by sweating what makes you think I'd want to talk about…_that?"

"_You mean farting?"_

"_Oh god, stop saying it!" she said as she covered her ears and laughed ._

"_Sorry, that was the last time. What should we talk about now?"_

"_You could both try not talking at all." The other boy in the boat with them interjected. "Though that may be a stretch."_

"_And who may I ask are you?" Molly responded._

"_Lex Alvarez, but you can call me Lex. There's no need for you to introduce yourselves; I've decided to call you Chatty Cathy and Clueless Chris."_

"_Well Lex Alvarez, I'd much rather talk to Chris than sit here in the cold and the dark watching the boat approach the castle like you."_

"_I'm just saying, silence is a virtue."_

"_Patience." Molly corrected. _

_"What?"_

_"I'm pretty sure that patience is a virtue and silence is golden. I guess they could both go either way if you really think about it; they're both a pain in the bum if you ask me." The boy named Lex groaned at her rambling and she turned her attention back to the other boy in the boat._

"_You're pretty funny Cathy." The boy joked. "I like you."_

"_You're fun to talk to. I like you too…whatever your real name is."_

"_It's Carson. Carson Bennett."_

"_Well hello. I'm Molly Weasley, it's nice to meet you."_

"_You too."_

* * *

><p>"Some things never change huh?" Carson said as he sat next to her in the little courtyard behind the Quidditch stands. Ever since she had left the team, she found herself coming here to think, and today she had decided to invite Carson to meet her so they could catch up. "I've still not figured out what you find so fascinating about the sky. Every since we met that day on the boats I look up every now and then and just don't get it."<p>

"Get out of my head! I was just thinking about that day."

"Uh oh, you were thinking about me? I'm flattered."

"Obviously I was if I asked you to meet me down here. I'm glad you got my message!" Molly said happily. She was half expecting him to not show up, but had hoped he'd see the note she slipped in his booksack, because she had really been missing him lately.

"You know, for a second I thought that note was Finnegan and he was going to be waiting to corner me and kick my arse." he joked.

"He wouldn't do that."

"He doesn't have the ball. So, what were you thinking about before I walked up? You were staring at the sky harder than the day we first met."

"I don't know, just thinking about that day, how excited I was. Who knew that I had just met my best friend?" she asked, "Or that the jerk from the boat would turn out to be another good friend and Roxy's boyfriend?"

"You kidding? I knew we'd be great friends from the first moment I saw you staring at the sky like your life depended on it. I can't say the same about Lex, but I guess he turned out alright."

"Oh you love him, don't even lie."

"Love is a strong word Weasley. Especially when referring to Lex Alvarez."

"Don't give me that bull, you two have the cutest bromance in the entire school. You're the one that made me start talking to him in the first place, remember?"

"And I made a good call, right? He's a terrific bloke once you peel back the arrogance, attitude and brick wall of emotions. He's a good guy though."

"Yes he is. I'm so glad that we stuck it out all these years. We're the only people that haven't fallen out or completely started hating each other."

"6 years strong and you still haven't driven me insane."

"Likewise. I really do miss those days back in first year, though. It was before boyfriends, and your terrible taste in girls, and Quidditch teams, and drama. You were so cute back then."

"Only back then?" he asked cockily, "Well you were, and still are, very pretty."

"I meant personality wise you dolt." She couldn't help but smile at her good friend. He'd grown a lot over the years but he was one of few people that hadn't changed at all otherwise. He had always been a nice, sweet guy and she hoped that would never change, no matter how many disgusting girls threw themselves at him. The real problem was that even though he had a reputation of being a ladies man, he was still honorable and good mannered and that was the main reason girls got so attached. He had the best aspects of a good guy and a bad guy all mixed up into one tall, fit, tan package. But she tried not to think about his looks much. She didn't know why, it was always just something that she tried not to think about.

"My personality is my best trait."

"Are you sure it's not your never-ending modesty?"

"That's just a bonus, I'm pretty sure it's the personality that wins the ladies over." He answered, making her roll her eyes. She tried to scoot away from him but he pulled her back and put his arm around her shoulder casually. Even though he could be a tad bit full of himself, she had missed having him around. There was no good reason for them to have become distant, it had just kind of happened. She was always with Chase and he was always doing his best to stay as far away from her boyfriend as possible. But she and Carson had been friends way longer, her boyfriend shouldn't have come between that.

"I really miss just hanging with you like this. Why don't we do this more often?" she asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he asked as he pulled his arm away, "I think you know exactly why we don't do this anymore."

"I don't think I do actually. Is it because you enjoy hurting my feelings and not spending time with me?"

"No, it's because Chase seems to always leave 'fun time with Carson' off of your schedule of events for the day."

"Oh please, there's no schedule."

"No?" he asked sarcastically.

"Of course not. He does not control me like that; you make it seem like he's some sort of master that tries to keep me away from everyone and all to himself."

"I don't think he tries to keep you away from everyone; he just has an affinity for making sure we spend as little time together as possible."

"What? That's not true."

"Isn't it? He's fine with you and Lex chumming it up, he doesn't bat an eye when you and Brooks are together, it's only me that gets a rise out of him. I'm surprised you're even out here now. What'd you say when you told him?"

"I didn't. He thinks I'm in the library with Roxy." She admitted shamefully.

"So you lied? I wonder what the punishment for that is."

"I did not lie; I did swing by the library and say hi to Roxy, then I happened to cross paths with you."

"Molly, do you know how ridiculous that sounds? What happens if he runs into Roxy in the library or something? You'll be caught."

"I'll have you know Roxy is a talented liar and she has my back no matter what."

"I don't doubt that, I just don't think it's necessary or fair. Why do you have to lie and sneak around to hang out with me, but he can hang out with Madison any time it suits him?" he asked accusingly.

"What does Madison have to do with this?"

"You don't think they spend a odd amount of time together?"

"It's not like that. Mads is quiet and reserved like him. They're both too mature for their own good and she understands him in a way I never will. She's like our very own damage control service."

"And you're ok with them hanging out?"

"Yes! Is it a crime to trust your boyfriend?"

"Not at all. But it's not fair when he doesn't give you that same trust that you give him. What good is a relationship built on double standards and restrictions?" he asked.

"I don't know 'Oh Holy One', why don't you tell me? Oh but wait, how many successful relationships have you been in?"

"Around the same as you. None." She gasped before tackling her friend and attempting to strangle him. Who did he think he was? He was in no place to judge her. It only took seconds before Molly gained the upper hand and had him pinned.

"Take that back Bennett or I'll make you sorry."

"Empty threats, love." She raised one eyebrow defensively before elbowing him in the stomach quickly before capturing his hand and pinning it back to the ground.

"Take. It. Back."

"No." She hit him again and this time she was satisfied when he grunted in pain. Molly thought she'd finally gotten him but he flexed the muscles in his arms before lifting them off the ground slowly, even though she'd had his hands pinned. In one swift movement he rolled them over so that he was on top, straddling her waist with both of her hands held tightly in one of his above her head. "Jesus, you've gotten strong to still be so little."

"I'm not little! Let me go you big stupid dummy." She screamed as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Not until you promise to stop hitting me."

"I won't stop until you apologize."

"I'm sorry." He said quickly. She dug her heel into the small of his back roughly.

"Ahhh! What did you do that for? I apologized."

"Say it like you mean it."

"I'm sorry I said your relationship was unsuccessful. I'm sure it's everything you've ever wanted and more."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, but I accept. Now let me up." He looked at her warily, but she tried her best to put on an innocent smile. He released her arms slowly, and once she was free she was able to push against his chest to get him the rest of the way off of her. As crazy as it seems, that had been fun. It was reckless and entertaining; Chase would never roll around on the ground with her and he surely wouldn't find wrestling fun. Carson was way more spontaneous and free spirited, but Chase was responsible and careful. Now she was comparing Carson and Chase? What next, some kind of sappy teen love triangle? She was not at all amused by the idea.

"So I see you haven't lost all of your umph Weasley. That's good."

"Umph?"

"You know, spunk, gumption, fun. Where'd you learn to wrestle and hit like that anyway?"

"Me and Roxy used to tag team Teddy, and I used to wrestle with Fred and James when until they got taller than me." She couldn't even imagine wrestling with Fred now. He was about as tall as his father and built like a 30 year old man. He'd kick her butt without even having to try.

"For some reason I just can't imagine you wrestling with the boys." He said with a laugh.

"Do you need another demonstration? I'll make sure to give you a clearer picture this time."

"That won't be necessary. I've got the bruises on my ribs and that's picture enough."

"Good." Molly took the silence that had fallen between them to slow her breathing. It was crazy, but even after all that fighting she was the most relaxed she'd felt in a long time. She wasn't worried about school, or looks, or Chase, or her family. It was just her, Carson, and nature. It was peaceful.

"Hey Molly?"

"Yeah."

"What do you see in him?". Well, so much for their peaceful moment.

"What do I see in who?" she asked, knowing exactly who he was referring to.

"Santa Clause." He answered sarcastically. "I meant Chase, you daft girl."

"That's… an interesting question. I'm not sure how to answer."

"How about truthfully?"

" Right. Well it's not that easy of a question because we've both changed so much. I think at first, I saw a quiet, gentle guy who wasn't really sure of himself and had a crush. Then I got to know him and for the first time I was loved, and seen for who I really was. Chase didn't care about the make-up or whether or not my hair was naturally red or straight. He liked who I was." That had been the case back then; but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like he only liked who he thought she might turn out to be.

"You say that like he doesn't feel those things anymore. What do you see in him now?"

"Now… I see history." She answered truthfully. "I see the guy that asked me out in front of the whole school, my first love, the guy that knows all my secrets, even the ones I've never told. I see someone that's put up with me for 3 years, even though he can be extreme at times, but I can't discredit him for caring about me. Could you?" Molly knew this conversation was creeping into dangerous territory. For Carson and Molly to both talk so much, there were about a million things between them that hadn't been said and she wasn't sure she was ready or capable of talking about them now.

"So that's why you're still with him? Because he's put up with you?"

"No, Carson. I'm still with him because we love each other and he hasn't given me a reason to not be with him."

"So the fights, the name calling, the judging, separating you from your friends, trying to change you. You're ok with that?"

"I wouldn't say I'm… ok with it, but he loves me. "

"That's so twisted Molly, can't you see that? That's just not enough."

"For who Carson? It's enough for me and that's all that matters! What the hell do you care anyway?" she said as she wiped away a tear.

"I didn't mean to upset you, I just feel like I'm running out of time to make you see-"

"Make me see what? That my relationship isn't holding up to your standards? That I'm making the biggest mistake of my life? Please, do tell me what I'm missing because I definitely haven't had enough of people telling me how stupid I am for staying with him or that he's no good for me. Everyone blames Chase for being controlling but you're all just as bad. Everyone thinks what they want me to do is what's best for me and I'm just expected to do as everyone says, but I won't! I'm in control of my life; and I may be mucking it up but at least I'm doing so on my own terms."

"I didn't mean…" he sighed frustratedly and scooted over so that he could put an arm back around her. "I'm sorry for saying that Mo. Please don't cry."

"Too late, you git. These wet things on my face are tears and I am crying."

"I'm sorry Mo. I really didn't mean to upset you, I just need to get this off my chest."

"There's more?" she asked through her eyelashes, as her tears finally began to fade. "Is it going to make me feel better?"

"Probably not."

"What is it?" He reached up and brushed off the last of her tears with his thumb. She could have sworn that she felt a spark on the spot he had touched, and was glad he had let go quickly.

"Listen Molly, I know this is terrible timing and I had years and years to say it, I just never knew how."

"Go on."

"Have you ever liked something so much that you'd do anything to get it, or keep it, or just have for one second in your life?" he asked. She nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. "Well then you know you'd do anything for it, even if it meant you got hurt in the process."

"Wait. Are you talking about inanimate objects, or people?"

"People. Well, one person. You."

"Me?" she asked, before he could continue. She noticed that his face had gotten all intense and serious in a way she's never seen him. They weren't the type for seriousness, so she had a clue as to what his big speech was going to be about. All of her time at Hogwarts, Carson had been there. They were each other's first friends and their friendship hadn't faltered since. He was one of few people that weren't afraid to be real with her and he was her first kiss when they were in their second year. Lex had been teasing him about never kissing a girl so Molly kissed him. If she saw history in Chase, she didn't know how to describe what she saw in Carson. She couldn't lie and say she had never thought about him romantically, but she always figured they were just good looking friends that liked to flirt. Nothing more.

"I know you have a boyfriend, and that you care for him, but I need you to know that-"

"Don't."

"Molly-"

"Please Carson, I know what you're going to say. At least I think I know what you want to to say."

"Then let me say it. Just once."

"No. I can't hear that from you right now. It's not fair."

"To who?"

"To you! To me! I _just_ got things together with Chase after almost kissing _you _and we're doing ok for the first time in a really long time and I know you aren't Chase's biggest fan but I can't hurt him. You understand that right? If you say what I think you're going to, I won't be able to get it out of my head and I might-" Molly sighed loudly. She had already said too much. Inviting him here had been a terrible idea.

"You might what Molly? Please tell me."

"I don't know, then I'd have to come to terms with the fact that I feel the same and I just can't; so please don't say it." He sighed in defeat and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had just tried to tell her that he had feelings for her and she had shot him down without even letting him get the words out. Some friend she was. He looked deep into her eyes a few seconds longer than she would have liked and finally sighed in defeat.

"Ok." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, before walking off towards the castle. What had she just done? She wiped away another tear, but she hadn't been crying.

The tear rolling down her cheek wasn't hers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, so I haven't updated in a long time, but I'm back and it's summer and I plan on finishing this story by August! You are free to hold me to that. Anyway, please review. I know this chapter kinda seems out of place but I just wanted to get something up so you'd know I'm still alive.**

**-Jazz**


	10. We Are Family

"Everyone can see we're together  
>As we walk on by<br>And we fly just like birds of a feather  
>I won't tell no lie<br>All of the people around us they say  
>Can they be that close<br>Just let me state for the record  
>We're giving love in a family dose"<p>

-Sister Sledge

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Teddy loved playing games with the little kids. Even though he was now 11 and would be going to Hogwarts in September, he enjoyed making up games with them, doing talent shows, having Quidditch tournaments, and even doing silly arts & crafts projects, because he could make almost anything fun. That was part of the reason they all loved him so much. He was the oldest of all the kids and he was the only boy that wasn't still considered a baby or little kid. Plus, he really enjoyed spending time with them and they all seemed to listen to him. They weren't as annoying with him as they were with Victoire, who always tried very hard to win their affections. He liked to just go with the flow and was game for almost anything; except playing house. _

_The whole thought of the game-if that's what you wanted to call it- was just stupid to him. They didn't need to act it all out because they all lived in houses and got to see what it was like every day. Teddy didn't think he would ever understand the interest Molly and Vic had in assigning roles and bossing the little kids around for the day. From his point of view, being an adult and having 11 babies wasn't fun at all. He hated this game; and yet, here he was waiting for the festivities to start because he knew if he said no it would hurt Vic's feelings. Harry had taught him to treat all girls the way he'd want someone to treat Andromeda, or Ginny, or Lily. That meant playing House even if he thought it was going to cause him to lose any brain cells he'd developed._

"_Teddy, come on already! Let's get started!" Victoire squealed, as she dragged the babies' play pen out of the house and into the line-up of kids. Louis and Hugo seemed to be having some weird, silent, baby conversation and Lucy and Lily were giggling at Victoire. She could barely even drag the thing through the grass, and Teddy was sure he would end up carrying each one of them back into the house later on._

"_What if I don't want to play?" he asked._

"_Tough kitty Ted, you have to. You're the only one that can be the dad."_

"_Tough kitty? Why can't Molly be the dad?"_

"_Yuck!" the little girl squealed. "I'm a girl!" Teddy could only roll his eyes at her as he made his way to the line of kids. Roxy was hopping up and down like a crazy person, Dom, Fred and James were sitting in the grass digging up bugs, Rose was crying in her stroller, Al was sleeping, and the four babies just looked happy to be able to play along this time. They probably had no idea what Vic was getting them into, but they rarely played with the others because they were so young and Roxy, James, Fred and Dominique could be really rough with them. This being said, Teddy had no idea why Vic subjected them to being the little terrors' baby dolls._

"_Ok," Vic started, "I'll be the mommy, Teddy will be the daddy, Molly and Roxy can be the aunts, and everyone else can be the kids."_

"_I want to be the doctor!" Roxy said as she stopped jumping up and down._

"_Well a house doesn't really need a doctor unless we go to the hospital." Roxy's face fell, and Teddy decided to intervene before she got sad or worse, angry. Neither was good with Roxy because she had a weird influence on the kids. She could stage a coup and have them all running around the house in circles if she wanted._

"_You can be the aunt and the doctor like Aunt Hermione; does that sound ok?" he tried._

"_Ok!" she said contentedly. Vic glared at him, but he just shrugged. The two of them had always been best friends, but they were very different in some ways. One of them being that he believed in compromise, while she was more of a 'my way or the highway' kind of person._

"_Whatever," she grumbled, "Let's get started."_

"_Why do you always get to be the mommy? I want to marry Teddy too!" Molly whined._

"_I'm the oldest, and everyone can't be kids. Being the aunt is fun Molly, you get to be like Aunt Audrey and Aunt Ginny and Aunt-"_

"_Fine. I'm always the aunt." She mumbled sadly._

"_Can I be a puppy?" James asked, before barking and crawling on all fours. Of course, Dominique and Fred followed suit, causing all of the other kids to laugh._

"_No, why do we need a puppy?" Vic asked._

"_Woof! Woof woof!" he responded, making Vic literally pull her hair._

"_Dom and Fred, you guys want to be dogs too?" Teddy asked, knowing they'd want to if James was. They barked at him in response and Teddy could tell Vic was getting frustrated that he was messing up her game._

"_Fine! So there's 3 dogs, 2 aunts, and 6 kids. Let's start now." She said before smoothing down her hair and straightening her posture. Teddy assumed this was how she got prepared for her role as 'Mommy.'_

"_Ok husband, let's take the family to the park."_

"_Alright…_wife,_ but you know husbands and wives don't call each other that. You can just say Teddy."_

"Teddy_, let's take the kids to the park."_

"_I don't wanna go!" Rose whined, "Mommy?"_

"_Yes dear?" Vic asked._

"_Not you!" Roxy sang, " Her _real_ mommy." _

"_It's just pretend, Rosie," she cooed. "Now come on, we're going to the park with your brothers and sisters."_

"_I hate parks, let's go to the beach!" Dom squealed._

"_There is no beach," Vic responded._

"_It's just pretend, Vicky." She mocked._

"_I thought puppies couldn't talk."_

"_Puppies?" James cut in, "We're not puppies, we're animalaguses!"_

"_It's Animagus. And we're playing house, not pretend to be whatever creature you want."_

"_House is boring!" Fred said as he stuck his tongue out. _

_All of the bickering was slowly driving Teddy insane and he was so glad that he'd be starting Hogwarts in a few months. It would be the first time, as far as he could remember, that he wasn't surrounded by people younger than him. For once, he would be the oldest. Vic looked positively put out that her game had turned into such a mess. Even Molly had trailed off back into the house; either losing interest in the game or rebelling against being made an aunt. Roxy had let Rose and Al out of their strollers, and the three of them had started rolling around in the grass. Vic was arguing with Dom, and Fred and James were pretending to morph into all kinds of animals. It would have been funny, but Vic really looked like she was about to cry. This was his cue to save the day, just like an older, cooler cousin should._

"_Hey guys, I have a cool idea!" Teddy shouted, trying to sound excited, rather frustrated. Immediately everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to him. Even Vic stood with her hands on her hips and her mouth hanging open disbelief._

"_How did you do that?" she asked. Teddy smirked on the inside, knowing it was because they preferred him to her when it came to playing, but just shrugged as if he hadn't a clue._

"_How about we all go inside and get ice cream, then take turns playing something everyone wants to play?" he suggested. He hadn't even gotten out the word ice cream before all of the kids that weren't stuck in to baby contraptions ran inside to the house. Vic folded her arms in defiance and blew a stray piece of hair away from her eye. "Tori, don't you want some ice cream?"_

"_No. I wanted to play house."_

"_Well, your 'kids' didn't want to."_

"_I don't see why not."_

"_House isn't the most exciting game on the planet."_

"_Says who?"_

"_Says me, and thousands of children across the universe who have been forced to play this game against their will."_

"_Well, some day you will have a real wife, I will have a real husband, and we'll have our own real kids." she said in a sort of mocking tone._

"_Eugh Tori, don't talk like that."_

"_Like what? It's true."_

"_Not for everyone. Uncle Charlie doesn't have any of that. I'm gonna be a bachelor like him."_

"_Are not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_But, that's not how it's supposed to work; don't you want kids of your own?"_

"_Merlin no! You saw what they were like today; imagine that every day for the rest of your life." He said, trying not to let the thought of marrying a girl someday make him sick._

"_You won't be saying that in 10 years." She challenged._

"_Yeah right. Watch me." He said as she rolled her eyes. "Now do you want ice cream or not?" He held out his hand as an offer, and she took it reluctantly._

"_You will have kids someday Teddy Lupin, I can tell. And you're gonna be a good dad."_

_He shook his head at her as they both pushed the babies' play pen back into the house. Teddy Lupin was never getting married or having children. Ever._

* * *

><p>"Hellooo!" he heard a voice sing, bringing him back to reality. "He's got my wand! Teddy, are you just going to sit there?"<p>

Teddy opened his eyes and realized he had been daydreaming. He was not 11 years old at the Burrow with a bunch of kids that could barely walk and only knew a few words and listened to him all of the time. He was in his office at Hogwarts, surrounded by a bunch of foul-mouthed teenagers that were loud, annoying, and didn't listen to him at all. Teddy painfully missed their younger days and wondered why they were in his office on a Sunday afternoon in the first place, but he quickly remembered it was his fault.

Teddy liked control. He was good at keeping things in control and people generally listened to him. However, this year things had gotten pretty out of whack and he hadn't even noticed until he had to stop them all from beating up another student and almost getting kicked out of school. In an attempt to decrease the amount of family brawls in the school halls, Teddy had invited them to his office once a week to catch up, stay up to date on what's going on in one another's lives, and keep them busy. It also got them together in one place so he made sure they wrote to their parents and were able to write to Vic, who complained that she felt left out if they didn't. Sometimes spending time with them was great; their Sundays reminded him of the old days at The Burrow. Other times, like today, it was a nightmare and he just wanted time alone.

Roxy and her boyfriend-who was allowed to come on Sundays with Fred's blessing- were being extremely inappropriate in the corner, considering her younger cousins were in there. James had taken Rose's wand, and she and Al were screaming at the top of their lungs trying to get it back. Fred was using his wand and a quill that Teddy was pretty fond of, to drum loudly on his sofa. Lily and Hugo were drawing crazy words and pictures on the face of a sleeping Louis. Molly and Chase- who had invited himself to hang out with them- were arguing as always, and Dominique was listening to her iPod (that he now regretted ever getting her in the first place) so loud that Teddy could have sung along if he wanted. Really, it was a mad house. People used that expression a lot, but this was literally a mad house. He was going to go mad.

"James, give it back to her you prat!" Al screamed.

"Aww, wittle Albie wants to get his girlfriend's wand back." He taunted immaturely.

"That's disgusting James!" Lily scolded, making Hugo shush her for almost waking up Louis.

"Oh right! Everyone knows Al loves the sweet little nature girl, Reid Longbottom". Al sent a jinx his way and James ducked, causing a hole to be burned into the curtains that were pretty ugly anyway. Molly and Chase got louder, Dom had started singing along with her music- which didn't match Fred's drumming rhythms- Louis had awoken and was now screaming at Lily and Hugo who were laughing uncontrollably, and Teddy had finally had enough.

"Quiet." Teddy said firmly, softly. If anything, they only got louder. "QUIET!" Everyone turned to face Teddy and Dom had the nerve to look annoyed with _him_ for interrupting her singing.

"Geez, Ted. Don't get your wand in a knot." James said.

"Give Rose her wand." He said to his brother, who only raised his eye brow in response. "Now." James huffed, but tossed Rose her wand and she stuck out her tongue before sitting at the foot of his desk and opening her book. "Alvarez, off of Roxy if you want to keep all of your parts functioning properly. Roxy, for the love of god, stop it. Finnegan, call my cousin out of her name one more time and see where you end up. Molly, watch your mouth. You guys are the oldest; act like it."

"Sorry." The four of them mumbled.

"Fred. For Christ's sake, stop drumming before you break both my favorite quill and your wand. Lily, Hugo, how many times do I have to tell you not to draw on people? Louis, go wash your face. And next time maybe you won't fall asleep when you have 4 inches of an essay left to write. Al, no jinxing your brother or my furniture. Next time I _will_ write home. Last, but certainly not least, Dominique. I specifically remember buying you an iPod, not and EverybodyPod. Turn it down or I'll take it back to the store. Are we all clear?" he asked to no response. "Are. We. Clear?"

"Yes." They responded in unison.

"Good. Now, I have papers to grade." Teddy sat back down and could feel twelve pairs of eyes directed towards him. "What is it?"

"You- you sounded, like an adult." Louis said with his nose turned up, as if that was a bad thing.

"No." Al cut in, "You sounded like _dad." _Lily, James and Al looked completely shocked while the others snickered at the revelation. "That's creepy."

"I think it's cute." Molly said in her girly voice. "You're going to be a dad in like 6 months. Might as well start exercising your authorities with kids; except for me and Roxy, we're adults now."

"Roxy and I," Rose corrected.

"Whatever, dork."

"Bite me, princess."

"Is the concept of quiet completely foreign to you all? Does bickering keep your energy going? Stop it." He said as he rolled his eyes as the room went quiet for a second time. He had a massive headache, and now all of the kids in the room were staring at him expectantly.

"Hey Teddy?" Roxy asked.

"_What?" _he snapped.

"Well you got us all quiet, you have our full and undivided attention; surely you had more orders? Or are we just supposed to sit here and twiddle our thumbs until you're ready to dismiss us?"

"The point of me asking you all to meet here wasn't to pow wow like you would in the common room. It was for quiet, civilized, family time."

"With… what family?" Hugo asked slowly. Lily rolled her eyes and whispered something in his ear. "Oh, you wanted to have quiet civilized time with us?"

"Don't you think that's reaching a bit?" Dominique asked, "Of course, I can be civilized, it's everyone else you should be worried about."

"_It's everyone else you should be worried about."_ James mimicked. "Fine. You want us quiet and civilized, we'll see who can be civilized the longest." His younger brother sat on the sofa and reopened a textbook that he had been using as a shield against Al earlier that evening. It was weird, but all of the others followed suit; silently sitting and opening books, starting letters, or just staring off into space. They were insanely competitive, but if this is what it took to get them silent then so be had to look around to make sure his was still in his office with his family. They had gone from 60 to 0 in 30 seconds and though peaceful, it was creepy. Teddy wasn't one to complain though, so he went back to his grading.

Teddy read two papers before he got bored with grading papers. It was still silent in his office though, which he had to admit was nice, so he looked up to see what they all had actually started doing. Roxy and Molly seemed to be having a staring contest, except they were both looking at their boyfriends; Dom was braiding and unbraiding her hair over and over; Louis was trying to twirl his wand on his pointer finger; Lily was picking at the polish on her nails; James was flipping between the same two pages in his textbook; Al was making random swirls of light dance with his wand; in other words, none of them were doing anything productive. They all truly had to have at least a minimal amount of chaos surrounding them to get anything done. That was funny. It was really funny; and all of a sudden he was laughing extremely first everyone just looked at him like he had grown another head, but eventually they all started laughing with him. It was probably because they hadn't seen him laugh in such a long time. Or maybe they also found the situation to be hilarious. All of them sitting there silently trying their _hardest _to be civilized; someone should have taken a picture.

"Am I the only one that just experienced the hardest 10 minutes of my life?" Molly asked. "Maybe we really are as crazy as everyone thinks-"

"You're just now figuring that out?"

"Oh, shut up Teddy. If we're crazy your kids will be too; he or she will be half Weasley."

"Hey!" Lily scolded as she threw a pillow at Molly, "That's my niece or nephew you're talking about."

"You see that?" Molly said as she threw the pillow back, "Your child is in serious danger of inheriting that. I'm not trying to be funny, these are scientific facts."

"That's from the Weasley side." Dom added, "Thanks to the Delacour side, the baby can also be really smart and blonde. Right Lou?"

"Right. No matter what, he or she will be an amazing Quidditch player."

"Or hate it completely," said Rose, who immediately looked ashamed when she received looks of disbelief from the rest family. "I take that back." She amended, making everyone laugh. These were the moments he remembered, and loved. They were crazy, but they were family, and if he hadn't been welcomed into their lives, he didn't know where he'd be right now.

"Listen up guys," Teddy started, interrupting them joking around, "I'm only going to say this once. I love you all."

"But…?"

"But nothing. I've known every single one of you for all of your lives. I've changed your diapers, babysat for your parents free of charge, tied your shoelaces, made hot chocolate, told ghost stories, scared away monsters, threatened boyfriends, and been overprotective of you guys for 17 years. You all can be crazy, but we wouldn't be us without a little chaos."

"So you won't be upset if your kids come out like us?" Rose beamed.

"I wouldn't mind if my child- singular- is a little bit like all of you."

"Even Dominique?" Chase asked, earning an elbow in the ribs from Molly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" James asked

"I don't need you to defend me James, and Finnegan, don't start with me. Why are you even here? Can't you see that this is family time?"

"Aren't you bored of hating me yet? Plus, Alvarez is here-"

"Exactly. We actually _like _Lex."

"Dom, just shut up," said Molly, "No one complains to you about your relationship with Zack or makes little jokes."

"Well for starters he's not my boyfriend, and no one complains because I don't bring him around you guys, unlike you, who can't take a hint and keeps shoving your ruddy boyfriend down our throats."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"We could solve this problem by all of you staying single for the rest of your lives-"

"Shut up James!"

"I'm just trying to help."

"It's not helping!"

"Everyone stop screaming," Hugo added, "Teddy just said he wanted to have you guys as kids and now you're ruining it."

"He wants them to be _like_ us, not actually have us as kids."

"Honestly, you know what he meant Rose. Stop being such a smart ass."

"No one was even talking to you, Lily. You always want to be the center of attention."

"Both of you, grow up."

The bickering went on and on, and as usual one argument between two people turned into five arguments between varying amounts of them, going on at the same time. This was a bit much, but it was more normal than sitting around staring off into space. Maybe when the baby was born, he could raise it to have a little more tact than his cousins, but he'd love the baby all the same. Teddy was ready to be a dad, and he thought he might be good at it too.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello all!<strong>

**I just had to give some family fluff! lol Coming up next is Hugo's first chapter and after that a big secret is revealed! Hope your summer has been amazing! If not, don't waste it; make it count! You'll hear from me soon!**

**-Jazz**


	11. I Am Free

"Once I was a prisoner  
>Lost inside myself<br>With the world surrounding me  
>Wandering through the misery<br>But now I am free"

-Mariah Carey

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_**Dear Hugo,**_

_**It's taken me three months to write back to you, but you know how busy things get around this time of year. Hope school is going well for you bud. I know the work load is intense, but you've got Louis and Rose who'll be there always to help you out. Now to more important things, your mother and I are excited that you made the Quidditch Team! Ginny was right pissed that Lily didn't. She thinks it going to make her lash out or something I guess. Either way, it's good to know you got on. I got to tell all of the guys from work that my son made the team and Harry's daughter didn't. Not that it's a competition, but I always knew you were something special son. Keep up the good work and keep making me proud. I've got a special belated birthday gift coming for you later (but keep that between me and you).**_

_**Love,**_

_**Dad**_

_**P.S. We'll be at your game this weekend to root you on. The whole family will be there! It's going to be awesome!**_

_Hugo read the letter three times, and each time it made his stomach turn. His dad could be very overbearing at times. He was just prideful and a bit arrogant, but you could say he meant well most of the time. Hugo knew for a fact that the Auror's office hadn't been busy, because Rose received letters more than once a week. He was also sure that his dad had only responded to his letter because of his mother, who had probably been begging him to do it since he sent it in September. Hugo also was overwhelmingly aware of the fact that his dad had only said nice things because of the whole Quidditch thing. He guessed that since none of Lily's letters had mentioned her being on the team, his dad was telling everyone in London that he had beat her out for a spot. Hugo also realized that the "something special" was going to be one of his less than useful care packages full of skiving snack boxes and products from the joke shop- all things that Hugo wasn't fond of, and would end up giving to Louis later. There was also the added fact that since he never said Happy Birthday on Hugo's birthday, that diminished the special part of the something his dad was going to send him. Hugo never liked to compare the way his dad treated him versus Rose often, but he remembered that on her last birthday "somebody" had the Weasley section filled with balloons, streames, and and a few presents. Hugo recieved a stale letter that might have been written by his dad's secretary or one of the interns at the Ministry. That would not surprose Hugo at all._

_None of that was a serious issue though. Hugo had grown comfortable with the relationship he had with his father. They didn't exactly see eye to eye on anything other than the weather. Even then, his dad might argue that it's warm in the winter just to be disagreeing with Hugo. His dad expected a lot from him, and was usually ended up disappointed. It didn't bother Hugo though. He was more or less able to ignore his dad altogether. He, unlike Rose, didn't mind when his parents would fight and his mom would need a few hours out of the house, because she would always take him with her. Those were the best times for Hugo; when there was a sizeable distance between him and his dad and sister. They were pretty much the same; expecting the most, but never being satisfied. Rose's intensity went towards school work and grades, while his dad's was reserved for everything else. They both wanted everything their way and expected red carpets to be rolled out for them so that they could have the things they were all about doing things better than other people and were consumed by the need to be right. Hugo was not a competitive person in the least. He was more like his mom, who was patient, and understanding, and knew that she wasn't right all of the time. She had high expectations as well, but she understood that all people are different, and there's no one right way to get things done._

_He definitely missed her, because she gave the best advice without telling him exactly what to do, so he got to kind of figure it out for himself. More than anyone else on the planet, his mother had faith in him, and would be able to tell him how to get himself out of this mess he had created._

"_Hey, Hugo?" Lily asked, sounding puzzled about something._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Why did my mom write in my letter that she was sorry I didn't make the Quidditch team and everything would be ok?"_

"_Beats me," he lied._

"_Really? Because she also wrote that she couldn't wait to see you play in the Holiday Quidditch game Saturday and that I shouldn't take this personally." He pretended not to hear what she said, but she was too smart to not figure it out. Her eyes widened and she gasped dramatically. "Please tell me you didn't tell your parents you made the Quidditch team Hue."_

"_Fine, I won't tell you."_

"_Hugo! Are you mad? You're _not_ on the team-"_

"_I know that!"_

"_You didn't even try out; none of us did because of James' stupid no first years rule-"_

"_I know, Lily-"_

"_And they are coming here Saturday to see you not play," she said as she shook her head, "IWhat were you thinking? don't know how you do these things."_

"_It takes practice to be an eternally hopeless screw-up."_

"_Well what are you going to do about it? You could ask James, but that probably won't work. Or, we could slip some sleeping draught into McLaggen's pumpkin juice right before the match. That would open up a spot, but we'd have to worry about James picking someone else to fill in."_

"_Or, we can watch as this all blows up in my face as usual." Hugo offered. He was used to these things happening. He'd say or do something wrong or embarrassing, everyone would laugh, thinking he'd done it to be funny, and they'd eventually move on to the next stupid thing he was liable to do._

"_Or you could do something about it-"_

"_Or not."_

"_Hugo, seriously! You can't just sit here and not doing anything; it's your fault you're in this mess."_

"_Piss off Lily! I get it, ok? I screwed up, I'm thick, I didn't think before I acted. Hugo does something stupid again, what a surprise!" he yelled. Lily recovered from his outburst quickly and fired back in the way that only she could. She generally responded to people in the way that they regarded her. If you whispered she whispered, if you yelled…_

"_I'm not going to sit here and feel sorry for you Hugo, that's not happening. Yes, you get yourself into some less than fortunate situations, but you've got to stop pitying yourself and work out your problems. Don't yell at me for trying to help. You need to get on the damn Quidditch Team because you opened your big mouth and lied to your dad! You should be figuring out a way to get James to put you on, not yelling at me for actually trying to do something about it." She said as she gathered her things and got up from the table. Before she walked away she put on a sickeningly sweet smile. "Good luck at your game Saturday."_

"_Ugh, Lily." He groaned, "I didn't mean to-"_

"_What? Can't hear you. The tune of Weasley is our King just got stuck in my head." Hugo sighed dramatically and began banging his head on the table, ignoring the laughs coming from the other students in the Hall. Now he had to talk to James, find a way on the team, play well if either of those worked, find time to apologize to Lily, and possibly have Madame Pomfrey check him for brain damage. It never ended._

"_Hugo, I don't know what you did or why it's got Lily skipping and singing, but damaging your skull is not the answer." He heard Louis say as he took Lily's place. He grabbed a handful of Hugo's hair and stopped him from hitting his head a 21__st__ time. "Use your words big boy."_

"_I was just thinking that maybe if I hit my head hard enough I can be exempted from the game Saturday." He said, ignoring Louis._

"_TOh. That won't be necessary because seeing as you aren't on the team, you're automatically exempted. Problem solved." Hugo merely groaned and shoved the letter into Louis' hands._

"_I may have told my dad that I was on the Quidditch and he's coming to see me play this weekend." He confessed. Instead of scolding him or saying how wrong he was, Louis simply started laughing. Honestly, it was contagious and in no time Hugo was laughing along with his cousin at the ridiculousness of the situation. Louis was the most laid back, light hearted person on the planet. He didn't stress about things and Hugo was glad he didn't find this to be that big of a deal._

"_That's pure comedy mate. Seriously, how do you do these things?"_

"_That's the million dollar question."_

"_Well, let's ask Lily! She'll have 5,000 ideas-"_

"_I kind of pissed her off."_

"_That explained the skipping, then. There's the obvious choice of telling your dad the truth."_

"_Have you been hitting your head mate? He's already told people at the ministry. The freaking ministry!"_

"_Well there's the equally unproductive option of talking to James. I'd say either way your chances are pretty small, but worse things have happened, right?"_

"_That's one way to think of it."_

"_It's the Louis way. Well, I got to go." He said as he got up laughing. "Wow, now I get why Lil was singing. This is priceless."_

_Hugo put his head back on the table slowly. Both Louis and Lily had offered an infinitely unhelpful amount of advice. Maybe he'd write Lucy, or maybe he'd just talk to James. Hugo gathered his things and walked out of the Great Hall slowly. Really, how did he get himself in to these things?_

* * *

><p>It had taken Hugo the rest of the week to gather the courage to do this, and he still hadn't apologized to Lily, but he figured it was now or never. It was either ask James, or be forever a disappointment in his dad's eyes.<p>

"James, may I have a word?" Hugo asked, doing his best to sound confident and assured.

"I'll do you one better Hue, you can have a seat." He answered as if the offer of sitting with James and his friends was supposed to change his life. James motioned for Linden to scoot down and make room and she happily obliged. Hugo thought it was interesting the way his friends did everything he said without really asking questions. It didn't matter; he had serious business to discuss. "To what do I owe the pleasure mate?"

"First, are you in a good mood today?"

"Don't know yet, maybe. What can I do you for?"

"Well, I want to be on the Quidditch Team."

"Hmm." He expected James to laugh or make a joke with his friends, but he simply kept eating and raised a curious eyebrow."When you were 6 you wanted a Porlock. Rose read to you about it from an old copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_, and you didn't shut up about them for a long time."

"You lost me. I wanted a what?"

"Exactly; you bugged your mum about it for weeks as if you'd die without a guardian horse and now you don't remember what it is or that you wanted it. People want things all of the time, the problem is they can't have them."

"That…doesn't make any sense." Hugo said slowly. He may not be the smartest of his family members, but he was the brother of Rose Weasley; he knew how to find the meaning in a metaphor, and him wanting a Porlock had nothing to do with him wanting to be on the Quidditch team.

"It doesn't have to make sense, but it's the truth. You can't be on the team Hue, you know about my no first years rule."

"That rule is a joke! Are you even allowed to do that?"

"It's my team, I'm fairly certain I'm allowed to make decisions that would better the team." Hugo rolled his eyes. He usually didn't disagree with teachers, but McGonagall must have been delusional when she made this psycho the captain. James thought he was in charge of everything already, so actually having official power was probably the worst thing that could have happened to their entire generation.

"How is this going to make the team better?"

"I don't need a bunch of newbs that can't balance their school work and the pressure of being on the team."

"_What _is a newb?" Hugo asked, questioning his Uncle Harry's acceptance of James watching so much Muggle television. "Who are you?"

"In all seriousness, it's to benefit you guys Hugo; this way when you're ready to be on the team, you'll be able to handle it."

"James, this makes no sense! Do you know how many amazing Quidditch players played their first year? Oliver Wood, Viktor Krum, your grandfather, your father, Aunt Angelina, Roxy, Al…you!"

"You think I'm amazing?" he interrupted cockily.

"Amongst everyone else I listed, yes, I think you're decent enough because you've been playing since your first year."

"Hue, I see what you're saying, but there's nothing I can do at this point. I can't just make an exception for you because you're family." He said, sounding a little sympathetic for the first time this whole conversation. "Even if you could win me over with your speech, there's no room on the team."

"I was thinking you could bench someone. Preferably Finnegan?"

"Hugo; I'm not benching a seasoned beater so you can have a little Quidditch glory." He said as his friends began to leave the table.

"It's not about glory! James, please-"

"My word, when did you get so needy Hue? I've got to go."

"I'm not needy I just…need this. For my dad."

"For your dad? Now I'm definitely not getting in the middle of this. I can count on you to root us on though yeah?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"That's the spirit." He called as he ran towards the door with his friends. He couldn't help but slouch in defeat as Lily and Louis walked up to him to sit down.

"I'm gonna guess that didn't go so well." Louis said lightly.

"I'm. Doomed." He answered. "What am I going to do now?"

"Oh, I don't know," Louis said as if he were mulling things over, "There's no way you could tell your dad the truth; that just makes absolutely too much sense."

"Oh shut up Lou; you're only saying that because it's not you." Hugo rolled his eyes. Maybe in 'Louisland' that would work, but not with _his_ dad. His pride would overpower understanding. He'd probably told all of his friends and embellished the story saying he was the best beater to come through Hogwarts in ages or something ridiculous like that. Hugo didn't blame his dad though; he didn't give him many things to be proud of so he was probably going insane with relief in the fact that his son wasn't going to turn out like his wife. Because Merlin forbid he have a hard working, open-minded, fiercely loyal son. That would just not be acceptable. Everyone always said Hugo had his mother's heart and his father's brain. Apparently that was supposed to be funny, but he had always taken it as a slight insult. He'd rather be 100% like his mom than even 50% like his dad. Rose, on the other hand, was a perfect blend of the two. She was smart, passionate, and hard-working like their mum, but she was tactical, blunt, and easy to get along with like their dad. Hugo wasn't jealous of Rose or anything, because it wasn't like she intentionally tried to outshine him.

Everything she did mostly came naturally. She was smart because she read a lot and had a scarily good memory; she was blunt because she was borderline socially awkward; and she was really understanding because she had an unusual amount of patience. Hugo, on the other hand, was always doing something wrong, and he could see how that would take toll on a dad. He knew there was only one person that could _really _probably help him but she wasn't his biggest fan right now.

"Lily?" he asked.

"Hugo?"

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?"

"For being an arse and yelling at you; I could really use your help." She furrowed her eyebrows in thought, and after a while let loose the huge smile that was normally on her face.

"It took you four days to apologize, Hugo. Four! I thought I was going to have to beat it out of you."

"Sorry, I swear."

"Apology accepted. Now, I'll let you in on my plan-"

"You already have a plan?"

"Come on!" she said as she pulled him up from the table, "You've got a big game in the morning!"

###

"_This_ was your big plan?" he asked as he stared at himself in the mirror. Lily had charmed his clothes to turn into the Quidditch uniform. That was it. "I am so dead."

"No, you're not! Just trust me." Hugo usually never doubted Lily, but this was most definitely not going to work. Even if he strutted onto the Quidditch pitch dressed like he was on the team, James wouldn't let him play. He might not even let him into the locker rooms. Regardless, he followed her out of the common room to meet up with Louis for part two of their "big plan." Before they even approached their blonde cousin, Hugo could tell he was laughing.

"This is it?" Louis asked skeptically. "Do you plan on overwhelming your dad with how dashing you look in the uniform?"

"A little faith in mewould be appreciated, thanks." Hugo and Louis looked at each other, obviously in agreement that whatever they were doing wasn't going to work.

"But how do you expect me to play?"

"You don't need to play; all you need is for your dad to see you, and to hope Louis performed his part of the job correctly."

"I did."

"Well, then it's going to go perfectly." Hugo could only roll his eyes in response and hopelessly guess what Louis' job had been and what the rest of the plan was. "You better get ready to test your acting skills; here comes your dad."

"Hugo!" his dad barked, in a tone that was usually reserved for Rose and treacle tarts, "Looking good son. Hey there Lily, Louis."

"Hi Uncle Ron!"

"Sorry about you guys not making the team," he said sounding smug, "there's always next year."

"Yeah, it was tough, but we'll try again." Lily responded, "Where's everyone else? Mom, Dad, Aunt Hermione?"

"Ginny and Hermione won some exclusive vacation to a spa or something and a big case came up that your dad had to take care of. Classified stuff, so we can't know about it yet. It's just me today." Hugo looked to Lily who winked quickly before grabbing his dad's hand.

"Well, shall we go down to the pitch?" Lily asked his dad sweetly.

"Of course; Hugo are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be dad."

"Good. You know, this is one of the most exciting days of my life. Maybe when we get home for the Holiday we can look at some of my old Cannon footage. You know, back from my assistant coaching days."

"Really? That would be awesome!" Hugo's dad had never asked him to anything but the dishes, so this was a colossal change of pace for them.

"You deserve it son. I always knew you had it in you."

"Thanks."

"Beater's a crucial position. Not as crucial as being Keeper, like I was, or Seeker, or Chaser, but you play a big part in the game too."

"I know."

"Don't be afraid to really give it to them, yeah? And don't back away from a confrontation with the other beater's; show them you are in control."

"Got it."

"Make sure you keep your focus out there. Sometimes I worry that there's nothing going on up there in that head of yours but try to rein it in for the duration of the match. Listen to James, he might be a bit of a prick but he knows what he's doing."

"Ok, dad." Hugo said, getting more and more frustrated the more his dad went on. It was clear that even though he was "on the team" his dad still didn't think he would be good at it.

"If the game gets too tough, take a break. That's what the reserve team is for-"

"Shut up!" Hugo screamed, even though he wanted to take it back as soon as it left his mouth. "Just, shut up dad." The three of them stopped walking and stared at Hugo in disbelief.

"Hugo-" Lily warned, though his dad cut her off.

"What did you just say?"

"I said- I just want you to stop talking to me like I'm stupid or incapable of holding my own in a match. You practically just said I'd need to be replacd by the reserve! When have you ever seen a reserve play at Hogwarts? You think I suck that bad?"

"I'm trying to help _you_ Hugo. I don't want you to get out there and screw this up!"

"You don't have to worry about that because I'm not going out there."

"_What did you just say?_ You're a Weasley. We don't let each other down and we don't quit; you're playing._"_

"No I'm not!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. Because I'm not even on the team!" His dad looked like he had just been slapped in the face.

"I knew this would happen; I knew the pressure would be too much-"

"Yes dad, the pressure is too much. But not from being on the team. I'm being crushed by the pressure of being your son! Nothing is good enough for you! I'm not tall enough, strong enough, or smart enough; sometimes I think you don't even think I'm _Weasley_ enough! You want me to be all of the things that you weren't; how is that fair? Why can't you just be happy with the son you have? You've got one perfect kid, Rose, so why can't that be enough for you?"

"Son-" he said quietly.

"I don't want to hear it. _Dad." _He said as menacingly as was no doubt that yelling at his dad had been completely out of line, but that was masked by how amazing it felt to get that off of his chest. "Sorry I lied about Quidditch and everything; guess you can add 'liar' to your list of disappointments."

Hugo thought he should have been crying, or feel guilty at least for going off on his dad and leaving him standing there with his big jaw on the floor, but he honestly felt proud. For once, Hugo had stood up for himself and he hadn't needed the rest of his family to back him up. He was not spineless or a push-over. He was strong, and he had a voice.

"Wait up!" Louis screamed, as he and Lily ran after him.

"Sorry you guys had to see me like that."

"Are you kidding?" Lily squealed before attacking him in a hug, "That. Was. Awesome!"

"Seriously?" he asked. This was not the reaction he had been expecting. The Weasley's were very respectful, especially to their parents. Aside from Roxy and Fred, who were best friends with their parents, yelling at an adult, especially your father, was not acceptable.

"Hugo, you finally stood up to your dad! It was brilliant!"

"So you guys aren't disappointed?"

"Disappointed? Hue you're my best friend and I hate to see you getting picked on and just taking smack from people. No disrespect to Uncle Ron, but he was being a prick and you totally shut him up."

"I knew you had it in you man."

"Thanks guys; I should probably write mum and tell her what happened before my dad gives her some warped version where I slapped him or cursed him or disgraced the family name."

"I'm glad you stood up for yourself, but I was really looking forward to seeing my plan play out." Lily said sadly.

"Oh for the love, will you please tell me what this brilliant plan was?" Hugo asked.

"After seeing your dad we were going to sneak you into the locker room with the invisible cloak- which you have to swear you don't know I have under pain of death. Louis was going to start a round of 'Weasley is our King', which would really have been for Roxy, but your dad wouldn't know the difference."

"That was Louis' big job?"

"Nope." Louis said with a smirk, "Just know that the entire Slytherin house has come down with a terrible case of the flu. Probably a bug floating around their common room."

"Or Fever Fruities; the newest Wheeze." Hugo said, connecting the dots. They had never planned for him to play anyway. "Brilliant, Lil."

"Why, thank you. So, you guys want to go to the match? We could play clueless when the Slytherin team doesn't show up."

"Nah, let's just hang out today." Louis replied.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Hugo said, feeling a lot less anxious than he had all day. "But Lily, how did you get the cloak?"

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." She said dramatically, making them all laugh. Hugo knew that he was going to have to deal with his dad eventually. They were going to have to work through their issue, but at least his father now knew that he would no longer take any of his crap. This was going to be a _very _interesting Christmas.

* * *

><p><strong>Yes, two chapters in one day! Hell must be freezing over lol Just so you know, I don't hate Ron, but I always felt like his relationship with Hugo would be strained. Anyway, don't forget to leave a review! What do you think of Hugo? Who haven't I written in a while that you'd like to see? Let me know!<strong>

**-Jazz**


	12. Secret

_"_Got a secret, can you keep it?  
>Swear this one you'll save<br>Better lock it in your pocket  
>Take this one to the grave"<p>

-The Pierces

* * *

><p><strong><em>Flashback<em>**

_Roxy usually used the first of her days off from school at home to relax and chill, but she was just too antsy this time. Christmas was her favorite holiday and she just couldn't wait for the festivities to begin. There was something about the snow, everyone's cheerfulness, and the special time with family that called to her. She loved every aspect of Christmas time and there was nothing that would ruin that this year. Her whole family knew that this was her holiday so she knew they would do everything in their power to not ruin it for her. She was currently in Diagon Alley with her mother, father, and brother, getting gifts for everyone, plus her Secret Santa, Lex, and Teddy and Vic's unborn baby. Call her crazy, but she didn't believe anyone, even fetus' should be deprived of a little Christmas cheer._

"_Roxy, I swear, stop jumping up and down. You'd think this was the last time you'd ever go Christmas shopping." Her dad grumbled._

"_I know it's not my last time, that would be tragic!"_

"_Then calm down!" Fred complained._

"_How do you expect me to calm down? This is the most wonderful time of year. Literally, there's a song written about it and everything."_

"_We know," they mumbled simultaneously. Roxy could care less if her family were just a bunch of Scrooges, she was going to enjoy this time._

"_Alright Roxanna," her mom said, using the nickname that ONLY she could use, "who to shop for first?"_

"_I can't shop for any of you while you're here so I'll do that with Lex another day. I've already got the gifts for the aunts and uncles, so I guess I'll just get my gifts for my Secret Santa and any of the other cousins I see something for."_

"_Who'd you get this year?" her brother asked._

"_Louis!" she said happily. Of all of the Weasley children Louis was definitely the easiest to shop for. He loved sports- muggle and wizard- and was extremely laid back. The last few years she'd been plagued with the difficulty of buying gifts for Lily and Teddy, who were arguably the most difficult people in the world to shop for. Teddy, because he never wanted anything and Lily, because she always wanted everything._

"_You're so lucky! I got Lucy."_

"_Lucy isn't so bad; you can get her some sheet music or a karaoke game or something." Their mother suggested._

"_That's so smart mom, thanks!" he said, happy that he wouldn't have to use his brain to get his cousin a gift. "It's good to know you're still brilliant after all these years."_

"_She's still sexy too."_

"_Ew, dad. Please don't insinuate that mom is sexy."_

"_Oohh, insinuationg!" his dad teased, "Did Hermione teach you that?"_

"_Yes, actually she did."_

"_Well, I'm not insinuating kid; I'm telling you straight up. Your mom is sexy."_

"_Enough, George. You're going to make the kids sick."_

"_I know what will make them even sicker." their dad said as he waggled his eyebrows and wrapped his arms around their mom affectionately. Fred was literally gagging, but Roxy thought it was sweet that her parents loved each other so much after knowing each other since they were 11. She hoped that she and Lex would be like that someday._

"_Oh my god, Alvarez!" Fred screamed. Roxy couldn't help but turn her head, surprised to see her boyfriend here in the store too when she was just thinking about him. "I've never been so happy to see you mate." Lex made his way over to the small family and gave Roxy a quick kiss on the cheek before greeting her parents._

"_Nice to see you Mr. and Mrs. Wealsey. What's up Fred?"_

"_Just being a witness to my disgusting parents and their lovey dovey-ness."_

"_That's never good." He joked," I saw Linden and some of the other girls from your year over by the dresses if you want to go say hey."_

"_Oh thank god! I'd rather watch them shop then watch my parents be all gooey in public." He said before walking away._

"_Oh, don't listen to Fred, he's bonkers." her mom said as she hugged Lex. "It's good to see you again. Are you shopping alone?"_

"_Oh no, I'm here with my whole family. Mom! Dad!" he screamed. Roxy had only met Lex's mom once, but she had seemed nice enough once they had spoken long enough. She was very poised and carried herself very professionally. She seemed stiff at first, but that was nothing compared to Lex's dad, who was pretty much as interesting as a brick wall. He had the apparent Alvarez confidence, but it almost came off as arrogance. It was the way Lex used to be pre-Roxy, so she was sure that somewhere deep down he was probably really a nice guy. "Mom, you've met Roxy." Lex said as the pair finally approached, snapping her out of her thoughts._

"_Roxy, darling, it's been too long." She said dramatically before kissing her cheeks properly. Roxy had to bite her cheek to stop from laughing at her dad's impersonations of this woman behind her back. Because Lex's parents came from old money, they were a lot more uptight and high-society than Roxy's parents, who were pretty much the goofiest adults on the planet. "I am convinced that you get more and more gorgeous by the second."_

"_It's great to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez. These are my parents, Angelina and George, and my brother Fred just ran off somewhere."_

"_We finally get to meet the lovely George and Angelina Weasley!" his mother cooed, " Possibly our future in-laws?"_

"_Great mom, let's just all say a bunch of weird things that will make everyone uncomfortable." Lex groaned._

"_I'm just saying-"_

"_No, you're just meddling."_

"_And look where it got your brothers! They are blissfully happy!"_

"_I didn't know you had any brothers Lex." Roxy's mom said. That was probably because he rarely ever talked about them. He resented them because he felt so different, when really they were pretty much exactly the same._

"_Oh yes, my beautiful boys." His mom said a little too affectionately. So it was obvious who his mother preferred, but that didn't mean she didn't love Lex, which is something he is absolutely convinced of. "They're around here somewhere. They came with us but of course are nowhere to be found once they spotted their friend."_

"_Well Roxy, why don't we look around a bit and let our parents chat?" Lex offered._

"_Yeah, that's good." The two of them walked off and Roxy was relieved. There were few things more boring than listening to 'parent talk.' They didn't stray far from where their parents were, but they were far enough to do a little 'chatting' of their own. "Oh hey, look! There's your brothers. Who's that with them__?"_

"_That's G, he's kind of a family friend."__ Roxy watched as __Both of Lex's brothers greeted her parents respectfully, but the other guy just looked extremely uncomfortable; staring widely and opening and closing his mouth like a fish. She was going to assume that this guy was just in awe of the Weasley's, but her theory was thwarted when her mom let out a gasp and her dad stood with his jaw almost on the floor. They looked equally, if not more uncomfortable than this boy, who Roxy was starting to feel bad for because her parents were staring him down like idiots._

"_What's up with your parents?" Lex asked._

"_My parents? What was up with your family friend?"_

"_No idea." Lex said with a deep chuckle, "G has been friends with my brother's forever, since they met at a Quidditch camp when they were younger."_

"_Oh really? Is he any good?"_

"_He was brilliant. He was going to be the youngest guy to ever advance to the junior division but one summer he just quit right in the middle of it and never came back."_

"_Hmm, well why is he acting like a crazy fan girl?"_

"_I already told you I don't know what's up with that. He's usually much cooler. Actually that's the first time I've seen him like that ever."_

"_Same goes for Tweedle dumb and Tweedle speechless."_

"_Hey!" he protested mockingly, "I prefer that you don't speak badly of my possible future in-laws?"_

"_Ahh! I can't believe your mother said that." She said with a laugh. It wasn't that Roxy wouldn't marry Lex, but the way his mother said was kind of like she had been planning the event for years. "Parents are weird."_

"_Tell me about it." He answered understandingly. "It looks like mine are ready to get out here, we only dropped in because I saw you through the window. Don't forget about my brother's dinner party next week."_

"_I haven't. Molly's coming too, by the way."_

"_Excellent! Will Chase be with her?"_

"_No." she asked suspiciously. Lex had specifically instructed Roxy to not invite Chase to the dinner._

"_Well what do you know? I just so happened to invite a close friend of mine and he won't have a date either."_

"_Is this friends name Carson?"_

"_Maybe."_

"_Lex!" she protested. It wasn't that she didn't think Molly didn't deserve a night without Chase, or fighting, or crying, but she wasn't interested in the fallout when Chase found out eventually._

"_Everything will be fine, Rox. Dinners with my brothers are always interesting; something crazy always happens."_

"_Bet you five galleons it's Molly's fault."_

"_It's a bet." He said before kissing her soundly on the lips. It was a good thing their parents weren't around. If they saw this, his mom would be making wedding plans and her dad would probably be cheering him on and whooping for dramatic effect._

"_See you soon. Love you."_

"_Love you too. Bye."_

_Roxy walked back towards her parents to find them speaking quietly to G as if they had known him their whole lives. When one of Lex's brothers called his name to tell him they were leaving, G almost jumped ten feet in the air._

"_Uh, well it was nice to see you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." He said quickly, "Goodbye." He walked away so fast that he probably didn't even see Roxy walk up. What in the world was going on?_

"_Mom, you know that guy?" she asked._

"_Yes." She answered simply. Her mother clearly thought this was enough explanation._

"_Well, how?"_

"_He's an old student from that summer Quidditch camp Ginny forced me to do when you were way younger."_

"_So you were his coach?"_

"_No. He would have moved up to my division the next summer, but I quit in the middle of the summer."_

"_Why'd you quit?"_

"_Because, I had a beautiful newborn son and a precious little toddler at home that I wanted to see. Why so many questions today girl?"_

"_No reason. Let's shop."_

* * *

><p>"So what's his name again?" Molly asked, clearly not amused by Roxy's story.<p>

"His name is G, or at least that's what he goes by."

"And you think there's something off about him because he was staring at your mum? Who used to be his coach?"

"Yes! And she was staring right back like they had a secret between them or something. It was just…weird." She said for the millionth time. She and Molly were getting ready for Lex's Christmas dinner, but she hadn't been able to get the scene with her parents and G out of her head.

"I think you're just paranoid."

"You should have seen the way he was looking though; it was extra creepy!"

"Your mom said she taught him at a camp once, right? Maybe he was just happy to see her."

"That can't be it. You don't look at your Quidditch coach the way he looked at my mum. She wasn't even his coach!"

"Maybe they had an affair at camp and your dad knew about it, so seeing him again was all weird."

"That's gross, Molly. I'm pretty sure he was like 13 at the time."

"What? It can't be a coincidence that he went to camp all of his life then suddenly quit the year your mother came. Who, don't forget, also quit that same year. Maybe the pressure of their affair was too much to handle."

"Uh, no. My mom hasn't been with anyone but my dad. I'm pretty sure of it."

"You honestly think a woman as pretty as your mom has only been with one man her whole life?"

"I honestly like to think so."

"Fine. So if it's not an affair, what is it?"

"I don't know, but I'm _going _to figure it out. Ready to go?" Instead of answering her question, Molly grabbed her and apparated before she could even realize what was happening. The sensation never got easier for her to handle, and she swore that even when she was old enough, she would not apparate, ever. "Are you insane? I thought we were taking the floo."

"No. Who wants to go to dinner covered in floo powder?"

"I'd prefer that to nearly being splinched."

"You were not nearly splinched." Molly said as she rolled her eyes.

"Not _this_ time."

"Whatever you say. We're here." Roxy looked up at the sign hanging above the restaurant that read 'The Alvarez' before feeling a familiar pair of arms around her waist and the usual 'aww' that Molly supplied when she saw Roxy and Lex being affectionate.

"Is this yours?" she asked him. She had been down this street thousands of times and she was pretty sure she would have noticed a huge sign with her boyfriend's last name on it.

"It's my brothers'. They just opened it a few weeks ago, but it's pretty much my parents' considering how lazy my brothers are."

"Are your parents coming to dinner tonight?" she asked curiously.

"No. They have business stuff all of the time. I was pretty much raised by my nut job brothers and a nanny who I'm pretty sure suffered from dementia."

"Aww, Lex. I'm sorry."

"Don't feel bad, I turned out ok. Right?"

"Are you kidding? You turned out amazing." She said before kissing him. Clearly she and Lex still had a lot to learn about each other. She knew he didn't talk about his parents often, but she just figured most boys didn't bring up their parents that much. It was no wonder he loved hanging out with her family and spending holidays at the Burrow; there he was surrounded by people and chaos, two things he didn't really get otherwise. Their kiss was just about to develop into something more when Roxy felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, but I'm just a tad bit uncomfortable." Carson said as he approached the group. "Please stop before I throw up; I would hate to ruin you guys' dinner."

"Nice to see you too." Lex said a little bitterly due to the interruption. "Let's go in." As they entered the restaurant, Roxy couldn't help but gape at the place which was like nothing she'd ever seen before. It was a great place with music, dim lighting and sectioned off rooms instead of dining tables out in the open. They were led to a room by the waiter named John, and each took a seat, joining Lex's brothers. Roxy realized there was one extra place at the table and wondered who it was for.

"Is someone else joining us?" she asked. "One of your girlfriend's maybe?"

"God no!" Lex's oldest brother screamed. "I lead the luxurious lifestyle of a bachelor, and Tristan's fiancée is in Healer training so she doesn't get out much."

"That's spot's for-"

"Me!" a guy screamed as he opened the curtain and came into the room. "Sorry I'm late, I got held up with the boss lady. I'm G, by the way." He said with an outstretched arm to Molly, which she took politely. Roxy followed suit and couldn't help but be surprised that he was here at the dinner with them, although she didn't know why.

"Nice to meet you G. I'm Roxanne."

She probably held on to his hand a little too long, but something about him was just oddly intriguing and she couldn't put her hand on exactly what it was. He was very tall with light brown skin. He was darker than her, but a little lighter than her brother. He had a laid back, bohemian kind of vibe that she knew very few people could pull off. He had on a pair of worn out jeans tucked into short ankle boots. His olive colored t-shirt was covered up with an oversized grey cardigan. His beard was neatly cut and he had his curly hair pulled into a ponytail at the top of his head. Aside from his style, she was most freaked out by his eyes. She knew those eyes, she just couldn't figure out why. As she stared at this stranger, biting the stew out of her nails, she realized he was biting his as well and staring just as intently at her. It then donned on her that the thing bothering her wasn't his weird connection wither mom, but it felt like she had a connection with him too. It was like they'd known each other for a while but she was positive she hadn't seen him before last week when she was Christmas shopping.

"Have we-"

"Met before?" she finished for him. "Technically no, but you look-"

"Really familiar." Everyone was looking very confused at their exchange, even she and the frustrantingly interesting G.

"If the two of you want to come back to earth, there are three other people at this table." Carson joked. Roxy shook her head and decided to just let it go for now; but she would definitely figure it out. She could sense that Lex had tensed up at their interaction, but she squeezed his hand to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about. Clearly his brothers picked up on the exchange.

"Hey G, you better back off of Lex's girl before he pisses his pants in anger."

"Girl as in girlfriend?" G asked surprised, "Way to go, Lex. I'm surprised a girl was able to tie down Hogwarts' number one ladies man."

"Well, this isn't just _any_ old girl." Lex responded. "If anything you should be wondering how I tied down _the _most desirable girl in the school. She's amazing."

"She really is." Molly said in her 'I'm trying to figure you out' voice. "Well personally, I would say it's the Weasley charm, but I think it's a Johnson thing because her _mom_ is the same way."

"So you're both Weasley's?" G asked Molly, "As in…well_ the _Weasley's?"

"That's the one. Why?"

"It's silly, but I think you're related to someone I kind of know."

"Oh?" Molly asked dramatically, kicking Roxy's foot under the table. "Who?"

"Her name is Angelina Weasley. Do you know her?"

"I surely do, she's _my_ aunt, but she's R-"

"Wait, hold up. How do you 'kind of' know Roxy's mom?" Lex asked. Roxy's heart was beating faster and faster and she was praying that this man hadn't had an affair with her mom. She could handle anything but that.

"Your mom? Angelina Johnson Weasley is your mother?" G asked quickly.

"Yeah, why?

"Holy shit." Roxy thought she'd known him or something, but maybe that wasn't it. Maybe she knew his parents or something, but it was clear that he knew who she was and was now putting a face with a name.

"Star struck, G?" Lex's brother asked, " I'm sure she'll sign an autograph if you just ask-"

"It's not that- I..I have to go."

"Wait a second. How do you know my mom?" she asked. She was really curious as to what was going on, and she wouldn't be able to sleep until all of this was sorted. "Wait!" she screamed as she jumped up from the table and rushed towards the door. "Don't leave yet, please!"

"Listen, it was nice to meet you, but I should really go."

"Why'd you freak out when you found out who my mother was? Have we met before? Why do you look so familiar?" She could see in his face that he was weighing the outcomes of telling the truth or deciding if it would be best to lie.

"It's not my secret to tell Roxanne."

"Please call me Roxy, and what secret? Who has a secret? My mom?"

"Roxy-"

"Why do you look so familiar, G? When you walked in the room I got this weird feeling- this feeling I get when I'm…around family. If you know me, which you seem to, you'll know that I love and cherish my family and I just-"

"Listen, you should just talk to your parents. It's really not my place to say."

"Talk to my parents? If I could do that I'd have talked to them by now don't you think? I'm not asking my parents about something they've kept from me for 16 years. Just tell me, please!"

"Your dad is George Weasley." He stated slowly. She wasn't following. "He owns the joke shop in Hogsmeade and has a wife, Angelina Johnson. She was born in Scotland and moved to London when she was 12. She was a chaser for Gryffindor and played professionally with Harpies for 6 years."

"What are you-"

"She lives at 6787 Tettenhill Square, she hates chocolate, she's left handed, and she signs her name with stars for the A's."

"So, you've been stalking my mother?"

"No."

"Did you- Is she having an affair with you or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that." He said as he fished around in his pockets for his wallet. Roxy stood there confused until he pulled out a picture and handed it to her. If he thought this was supposed to clear things up he was sorely mistaken. It was simply a picture of her dad and her late Uncle Fred. It wasn't even one she'd ever seen before so she was curious as to how this guy ended up with it.

"I don't get it. It's just a picture of my dad and my Uncle-"

"Fred. Fred Gideon Weasley." He said slowly. "I introduced myself as G; the G stands for Gideon." At these words Roxy's eyes went automatically to her Uncle's face. Those eyes; they were the same ones she'd had a staring contest with inside the restaurant.

"Oh. My. God."

"I know your mother so well because…well, she's my mother too."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: What's uuuuuup people! Drama Drama! Review :-_**


	13. Family Secrets

"Past the party, through the woods  
>Hear the message, misunderstood<br>Listen closely, the word is ours  
>Family secrets inside our hearts."<p>

-Subseven

***No flashback for this chapter because it's a continuation of the last one. So this picks up where Roxy left off, but in Fred's POV. Holla!***

* * *

><p>Fred had secretly been praying for any kind of excitement during this Christmas break. Usually around this time he'd be playing around with Dom and James, but he wouldn't know how to approach Dom one on one if someone gave him a step by step instruction guide. And James "wasn't into pranking anymore" which he said was because they were in fourth year and should be acting more mature, but Fred knew it was because Linden hated pranks and James actually likes her whether he realizes it or not. He had never hung out with Rose and Al alone, and he didn't think he wanted to anyway, simply because reading books was not at all fun to him. It always felt more like babysitting than hanging out when he was with Hugo and the gang, and he didn't think there was enough money in the world to get him alone with Molly. He wasn't interested in being made-over, taking a bunch of quizzes about boys that she would try and fix to make about girls, or hearing his horoscope that never really applied to him. He wouldn't go as far as hanging out with Molly, but at this point he'd truly even go to Shell Cottage and hang out with Teddy and Vic, who had become obsessed with baby books and research to make sure their child isn't, as Victoire put it, "a weirdo with a cone-head."<p>

So more or less, he was out of his mind bored if he would willingly listen to Vic talk about hormones, prenatal pills, c-sections and birthing classes. He didn't even know there was a class on birthing, he thought everyone kinda just figured out what to do when they go to the hospital. Either way, that wasn't an option because they had decided to spend a week alone, sans family, in an undisclosed location. Fred wasn't sure that these weeklong hideaways were a good idea considering that was how they got pregnant in the first place. Regardless, Fred was bored, and ever since he had made some "changes" last year, being bored was not something he was used to. Ever since he started saying yes to everything, he had found himself really living life to the fullest and not being bored. He had skinny dipped in the black lake, jumped off of the astronomy tower, discovered almost every secret passageway in the castle, successfully pranked the entire Slytherin common room, and started a party in the middle of a charms lesson. That last one had earned him a detention, but it was so worth it that he didn't even care.

Along the way he had created a lot of good memories, met a lot of cool people, and most importantly, had succeeded in not being bored. So for him, these last few days of silence and lack of activity had been practically driving him crazy. He needed to have something interesting to happen soon or he might resort to spending quality time with Molly. He had even considered writing a letter to his ex-girlfriend Leah, but she wasn't even in Europe this Christmas. He'll never forget how awkward being her boyfriend had been. Leah was a cool girl- probably the closest to being as cool as his older sister- but actually being boyfriend and girlfriend had been really uncomfortable. Neither of them really wanted it that much to begin with, and that added with the fact that they were 12 had just made being in a "relationship" flat out awkward. Basically, 2 months later, they had decided being friends was better, and she'd become like his partner in crime. She came up with the best ways to keep him entertained and was always game for some fun or an adventure. Unfortunately his best option to spice up this break was his least accessible option, so he had to resort to staring at his wall, reflecting on his year.

Just as Fred was about to close his eyes, he heard a loud crash in the kitchen followed by male and female voices that sounded a lot like Roxy and Alvarez.

"Mom! Dad!" he heard Roxy yell.

"Rox, please think about this before you do something stupid."

"Did you just call me stupid?"

"No! I think that barging in your parents' house ready to accuse them without knowing the whole story could be a really bad idea!" Lex screamed. Fred was really confused now and was torn between eavesdropping and going to the kitchen to be a part of the action.

"I wouldn't have to accuse if they hadn't been lying to us all these years."

"Roxy-"

"Lex, just stop it! I can handle this."

"Are you sure?"

"This is between me and my family. Please, go. I'll write you later." She said. It sounded like her anger was dissolving into tears, and she _never_ cried, so that fueled his decision to go down and see what could be bothering her so much.

"Roxy, sweetheart, what's wrong?" their dad asked.

"Dad, where's mom?" Roxy asked.

"She's in the shower. I almost had a conniption when you came in. Is everything ok?"

"Does everything look ok, dad? I just ruined the dinner party, I learned some disturbing news, I yelled at my boyfriend, and the ceiling is leaking! Mom!"

"The ceiling isn't leaking honey."

"Well then why the hell is my face wet?" she asked as she trailed a drop of water from her chin back up to her eye. "Am… I crying? Oh my god, I'm crying! Mooom!"

"What the hell is going on?" Fred asked, when he entered the kitchen. His dad looked equally confused, but Roxy spoke up.

"That's exactly what I'd like to know Fred. Go upstairs."

"No, I want to know what's going on! Was it Alvarez? What did he do?"

"Upstairs, now!" she screamed. Roxy was very intimidating, but Fred was not scared of her-a fact that she knew very well- so whatever had upset her was obviously big for her to think he'd follow her orders.

"Roxanne, honey, calm down." Their mother soothed as she came downstairs looking extremely flustered and concerned. She had clearly jumped out of the shower and ran in concern of Roxy's cries, which is pretty much what they were all doing. She tried to hug Roxy, but she pulled away. "Roxanna, what's wrong?" At the sound of the nickname something seemed to snap inside of Roxy and she looked at their mother with disbelief, annoyance, and most surprising of all, disgust.

"Don't! Don't try to be all motherly and comforting now. You're a cheater and a slag!" Now Fred was really confused. Roxy and their mother had an irritatingly friendly relationship. They'd never yell at one another.

"Roxanne Aurora, mind your mouth."

"No daddy, I'm sorry. I can't just keep my mouth shut and hold on to secrets like you guys. I can't sit here and ignore the fact that I have an older brother like mom ignores the fact that she has another son." Now Roxy was lying too? Lex must've slipped her something while they were at dinner because this was all just unbelievable. Fred was going to go upstairs and ignore her little fit, but his parents hadn't moved or said a word and were looking guilty. This surely couldn't be true.

"Mom? She's kidding, right?" He asked, only to be greeted with silence. "Do you have another son?" Silence. "The little inflection at the end of those sentences imply that I'm asking a question, and those generally are responded with these cool things called answers."

"Roxy, who told you?"

"Who do you think? He told me! Gideon, your firstborn son told me something that should never been kept from me in the first place. Then you lied to me when I asked how you knew each other! Were you just going to keep him a secret the rest of your life? Was that your plan?" Roxy asked, "Did you think you could just dump him and use me and Fred as replacements? You're sick."

"Roxanne, enough!" their dad screamed. He grabbed onto Roxy's arm and apparated them away so fast that Fred wasn't even sure it had really happened. That just left him and his mother, standing in the aftermath of Roxy and their dad's screaming, which had left a pretty thick air of uncomfortability in the tiny kitchen. It had been pretty silent, until he heard his mom trying to keep in tears, which made him snap into action. He immediately walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. His mom was pretty tall, and at only fourteen he was almost just as tall as she. He definitely wasn't used to comforting her, but he had to admit he was the most sensitive of the Weasley guys. Funny enough, he lived in a house with two of the toughest Weasley girls, so he never really had to comfort them.

"Thank you Freddy, but I'm not going to cry."

"I know you're not." He responded, even though he continued to hug her. "It's ok if you do though, you know that right? I'll still think you're the toughest mom out there."

"Thanks, honey."

"You're welcome. I think maybe if you and Roxy cried more often, it might spare us these outbursts of crazy emotion." She actually laughed at that, so he let go and sat at the table, where they always sat to have the more serious discussions. "So, a brother huh?"

"Geez, we're gonna get right to it then."

"It's easier that way, right?"

"Yes it is. You promise to listen and try to understand?"

"You promise to tell the truth?"

"Of course. And before anything I want to make sure you know that your father and I love each other very much. You know that right?"

"Well, yeah. But…?"

"But, he's not the only man I've ever loved, just as I'm possibly not the only girl he's ever loved."

"Ok. So I'm assuming this Gideon guy isn't dad's son?"

"No," she said slowly.

"But Roxy said he looked like me-"

"That's because Gideon is your father's nephew."

"Wait, what? His nephew? How can he be your son, my brother, and dad's nephew? That doesn't make any sense." Fred said slowly, as he tried to put the pieces together. If he looked like him, and he was dad's nephew, that meant that this Gideon character was still a Weasley. It was something about the name Gideon that was just driving him crazy, because he thought this was the key to figuring out this puzzle. He only knew of two people in the world with that name, and one, his great great uncle or something, was too old to have conceived a child with his mother. The other person he knew with that named was the man that he was named after. His Uncle Fred. "You didn't."

"Fred, you have to understand-"

"Did you cheat on dad with his brother? That's sick! That's…horrible."

"Honey, I've kept my promise. I've been completely honest with you and you promised you'd listen. So, will you please listen?"

"Fine." He said. He loved his mom more than anything, nothing could change that, but he couldn't help but look at her differently now. He'd much rather she had had a son with some random guy, not his dad's brother. That just sounded wrong on so many levels.

"When we were back in Hogwarts, I used to date your Uncle Fred. He was a huge pain in the ass, but he was fun and carefree and he brought out a side of me that was less uptight. He helped me become confident and appreciate my heritage and my skin, rather than shy away from it. I loved him so much, Freddy; I still do. Not in the way that I love your father, but I do still love him and even though I hide it well, I think about him every day." Fred's late uncle was not a subject that they brought up- ever- in this household. So for his mom to be so open about it now, it made him really want to try harder to understand where she was coming from. It made sense about her not loving only his dad all her life. Everyone doesn't just end up with their soul mates, but it was hard for him to think of her being with anyone else. Especially his uncle Fred, who he hadn't even known was friends with his mom, let alone her boyfriend.

"So did you get pregnant with Gideon before or after he died? Did he even know?"

"At first, he was the only one that knew. It took me a while to gather the courage to tell him, but by that time the war was really starting to heat up. We were going to tell everyone after Fleur's wedding, but the death eater's invaded and everything just got crazy from there. Your Uncle really wanted me and the baby to stay safe, so he begged me to go back to Scotland with my parents and stay there until the craziness was over. We had no clue it would take so long for things to actually be over. When Gideon was born, your father was still here helping with the war doing whatever he could. I would stay up all day and all night to listen to his radio broadcast just so I knew that he was ok. He visited every now and then, but it was hard with everything that was going on. Our friends were dying; Harry, Ron and Hermione were missing; we didn't even know what Ginny was going through at Hogwarts until much, much later. Things were getting chaotic and messy and I was really scared and worried for not only Fred, but the entire Wizarding World. We knew it was all going to have to end, but I don't think anyone was really prepared. I begged Fred not to go to the battle and he swore he wouldn't." Fred didn't really need her to go on; he had read the books and heard the stories and he knew how it ended. He didn't want her to keep going because it was obviously hurting her to relive those dark times. He felt horrible for lashing out at her earlier and he didn't want to hear the rest.

"It's ok mom, you don't have to-"

"I want to, ok? I want you to _really_ understand why we did things the way we did." She said, before taking a deep breath. "The day of the battle, Gideon had been driving me insane. He wouldn't stop crying and asking for his dad and I didn't understand it. When you're in a war, you get attached to signs; all kinds of signs and omens and superstitions. I couldn't help but feel that Gideon crying out for your uncle was a sign that something was wrong. As upset as I knew it would make him, I came here to London as fast as I could. I went straight to the Burrow but it was scarily empty. Not even your grandparents were there and I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. I searched the house for hours looking for a radio, but the station your father and uncle ran wasn't on. I freaked out, but there was nothing I could do but wait for them to get home. And when they got home-"

"I'm so sorry, mom." Fred said, his voice thick with emotion, " I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"You have nothing to be sorry about baby. Yes, I was sad; but it didn't compare in the slightest to the way your father took it. He was the only one that really understood it from my perspective and it hurt me to see him look so sad and alone and lost. I wanted to do for him what his brother did for me; comfort him, understand him, make him comfortable in his own skin and help him gain back his confidence. I just wanted to be there for him, you know? He was like a brother to me at the time and I loved him, even then. It killed me to see him in pain and I was all alone."

"What about Gideon? Where was he all this time?"

"With my parents. Even though the war was over, the time following was hard. It wasn't bright and shiny with heros being honored in parades and everything going back to normal. There were funerals; hundreds and hundreds of funerals. After they started the reconstruction of the castle there were more bodies found, more funerals, more sadness, more depression. It took a long time for people to realize the danger was gone and it took a lot of time for Voldemort's follower's to realize they had no fight. They had been manipulated and dictated by a half-blood with a vendetta against muggle borns and they still couldn't see their mistakes. There were trials, hearings, statements to be made. It weighed down on everyone, and I didn't think Gideon should have been raised with your father and I considering the state we were in. I couldn't let him grow up here."

"But you and him are close?"

"We were able to stay in touch when he was younger through my parents, but it was hard on both of us. I knew he was beginning to tell that his father wasn't coming back and he reminds me so much of your Uncle Fred that it was hard to even look at him sometimes. I was really young and I felt like a terrible mother and a failure to both Gideon and Fred Sr.; I thought it would be better to just let him live there and have no contact, but your father really wanted him to have a proper mother because he knew that was what Fred would have wanted. I visited him often for a while, but then I just couldn't take it anymore and the visits became farther apart and fewer." She said as tears began to form in her eyes. Fred could tell that she was really sad about choosing to leave him, but he was a little offended that she thought she was a bad mother. She was a great mother.

"Over time I was able to come to terms with my decision and it allowed me to let myself heal from everything that had happened. Soon after that things started falling into place; your father and I married, we had established careers doing what we loved, and we were mature enough to have children. When I got pregnant with your sister I was over joyed, but it brought back up those memories of Gideon and I tried reaching out to him but my mother told me that he wasn't interested in contacting me. By this point we had been sending him cards and things for holidays so he knew _of_ me."

"Knew _of _you? Did he know about Rox and me?"

"He knew he had a brother and a sister, but I specifically requested that my mother not let him get wrapped up in the Weasley fame and craziness. I was asking a lot of her when I asked her to take him in, but she agreed as long as I agreed to some terms. We were allowed to communicate, but I was not to use any names or give any information that could be used to find me. All letters were signed 'Love, your mother' or 'From mom.' I did slip up once and sign my name, but I didn't think it was a big deal considering there might be 1,000,000 Angelina's all over the world. The last term was that I was to legally give my mom custody and change his last name to Johnson instead of Weasley. It was heart-breaking, but I figured it was best. It had clearly worked, because when I saw him at a Quidditch camp about ten years later he acted as if he'd never met me before in his life. I thought I could keep working there since he didn't know I was his mom, but it was weird. He would just sit and stare at me all day, whenever he could like he was reading my mind or something. Towards the middle of the camp they always have a pro-Quidditch expo where you watch all the coaches play and can get autographs later. Of course he was first in line to get my signature and he had this knowing look in his eyes. I hadn't even finished writing my name before he was snatching the picture away and walking back to his bunk."

"So he knew who you were because he probably had that card you sent where you signed your name!"

"I think that when I signed my name on that letter I was subconsciously hoping that something like that would happen. It was a stupid thing for me to have done, to give him hope like that. I was young and stupid."

"But it worked! Why didn't he try to find out more about you and come live with us?"

"I don't know, and I wonder those same things. He's a grown man Fred; older than Teddy even. He's been old enough to decide whether or not he wants to contact me for a while now and so far he hasn't. It's his decision and he's not ready and I don't know if the world is ready either. He may never live with us or forgive me, but believe me when I say that I want nothing more than for you to meet him and for him to be a part of this family someday."

"And when will that day be?"

"Someday. Maybe sooner than I have previously imagined, but that day will come."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Ask me anything."

"Are you ok?" she broke out into a wide smile and hugged him tightly.

"Yes, I'm ok. Anything else?"

"No. I just need to think all of this over. It's kind of a lot."

"I know," she said, squeezing him tightly before releasing him from their hug, "I love you Freddy; so much that I can't even explain it. You are my world and I have so much love and respect for you; don't you ever forget that."

"I won't. I love you too mom."

He followed his mum upstairs and watched cautiously as she closed the door. She had really opened up to him and he hoped they hadn't re-opened any old wounds. It wasn't until he was in his room and shut the door that he let go of the breath he'd been holding. He had never imagined, in his wildest dreams, that he had an older brother. Admittedly he had always wanted one. Teddy had always been like a brother to him but he wasn't actually his brother. He'd wanted someone to look up to that could understand him and give him advice about clothes and girls and stuff. He wanted to know his brother and he wanted the world to know him too, but his mom was right; he didn't think the world was ready for this.

Fred had always been happy that there wasn't much focus on him and his sister when it came to the Weasley fame. Unless it was the memorial service for the battle and they were honoring his Uncle Fred, Rose, Hugo and the Potters got the large brunt of the paparazzi and all that stuff. If this ever came out people would automatically point the finger at his mother. They would probably assume she had cheated on his dad, just like he had, and he didn't want to think of the grief that it would cause his family.

"Fred?" Roxy called as she walked into his room quietly.

"Ever heard of knocking?" he asked.

"Nope, why don't you tell me more about it someday?" she joked. She wasn't screaming or puffy eyed so he assumed her talk with their dad had gone well.

"Did you talk to mum?"

"Yeah. Are you going to apologize to her for being an asshole?"

"I wouldn't use the word asshole but yes, I'm going to apologize." Fred was glad that she was going to apologize. The only person he hated seeing upset more than Roxy was his mum, even though she was tough as nails and rarely showed when things were bothering her. "Are you ok with everything?"

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"Shocked, but I'm alright."

"Good." Talking with Roxy had never been this awkward before. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air and it was like they had been given a shiny new toy but neither of them wanted to play with it first. Fred decided to say the obvious. "So I assume we're keeping this between the four of us? Well I guess five now."

"Definitely," she answered, "It's really up to mom, dad, and Gideon to spread the word to tell anyone anything, right?"

"Probably. But, there's no way the aunts and uncles don't know about him. Mom told me he was at The Burrow with her waiting for everyone to come back from the battle. They had to have seen him and I'm sure it raised questions."

"Well if not, Grandma and Grandpa have to know; dad couldn't keep that from them."

"True."

"So anyone that knows now will just have to know, but anyone else will just have to wait. That means you have to keep it from James and Dominique." Fred couldn't help but snort at that statement.

"Right, because I'm dying to tell Captain Insensitive and the Heartless Wonder about my family drama. You can't tell Lex or Molly."

"You've lost it if you think I'd tell Molly, and Lex already knows because he was there."

"If he knows, Leah should be able to know."

"Leah? But you don't feel about her the way I feel about Lex-"

"Do you care about him?"

"Yes."

"Would you trust him with your life?"

"Yes."

"Then we feel the same way." She looked at him skeptically for a while but finally rolled her eyes and caved.

"Fine, tell Leah. But that's it."

" Fine." He agreed. It wasn't like Leah was going to tell anyone. "So, I guess we have a brother."

"I know!" she screamed, finally sounding like her usual self, "It's freaking weird right?"

"It's really, really, really weird."

"You'll feel even weirder if, no, when you see him. It's creepy."

"What's he like then?"

"Well, first of all he goes by G. Personally, I think that's a bit thuggish but it's probably too early to start criticizing his choice in nicknames. Other than that, I don't really know what's he's like at all. He reminded me of you a little bit, which is crazy."

"How?"

"He was just really nice and very overprotective of people he's close to. He's a lot different than you though too. You're more daring and outspoken where as he's cautious and sits back to takes things in. I swear we were staring at each other and having a full conversation without even talking. It was weird."

"I want to meet him."

"You should. Do you think mom will forgive me for yelling at her earlier? I can't believe I called her a slag, she probably hates me."

"She doesn't hate you. But she did say in our talk that she loved me just a little more than you, which is to be expected." He joked.

"You're such a liar. But I should tell you that when I had my talk, dad finally admitted to me being funnier than you."

"Now _that's_ a lie." He said, making both of them laugh.

"Fine, don't believe me. Look Fred, as cliché as it sounds, we're in this thing together. It's always been you and me right?"

"Yup, frick and frack."

"Exactly. Nothing's going to change that; no boyfriends or girlfriends or crazy family secrets. We've never kept anything from each other before now and I don't want us to start. Ok?"

"Come on, that's never going to happen. You're my favorite sister, and the only one I have as far as I know." Roxy gasped loudly and hit him on the head. "What? Too soon?"

"Yeah, just a bit."

"Sorry."

"No you're not." She said as she kissed his cheek and walked towards the door.

"Hey Roxy?"

"What?"

"I love you."

"Love you too, Freddy."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** _**I liked it! Did you like it? Let me know! Also, starting yesterday I will be updating EVERY DAY! This will continue indefinitely so check daily for updates!**

**-Jazz**


	14. Realize

"If you just realize what I just realized  
>Then we'd be perfect for each other and we'll never find another<br>Just realize what I just realized  
>We'd never have to wonder if we missed out on each other now"<p>

-Colbie Caillait

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_If you're not prejudiced and you're so good and I'm so bad, why does my father's last name bother you?" Linden asked._

_"It doesn't! I couldn't give a rat's ass that your father is Theodore Nott!" he said awkwardly. He had never actually said the name before, and it seemed weird coming out of his mouth._

_"Bullshit! Yes it does! You can't even say it without making a face!" she said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the crowd of families. "What are you doing? James let me go!"_

_"I'm going to prove to you that last names don't matter to me. Mum, Dad?"_

_His parents turned around quickly, ending their conversation with his Grandmother. "Yes honey?"_

_"I'd like you to meet my friend, Linden Greengrass-Nott. Linden, this is my mum and dad." James crossed his arms triumphantly and plastered his signature smirk on his face. Her last name didn't mean a thing to him and he proved it just now. He had never introduced anyone to his parents before, especially a girl. James watched amusedly as Linden's mouth opened and closed like a fish. She was speechless for once. Excellent._

"_Linden?" his dad asked, "It's nice to finally meet you; I've heard loads about you from my son." His dad really knew how to make him look good in front of a girl. Linden didn't say anything, but he could just see the come backs and insults forming in her head even though she only raised an eyebrow in response._

"_Well I wouldn't say he's heard loads," he corrected, "but I may have mentioned you once or twice."_

"_It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Potter." She said bashfully._

"_Please, call me Harry. And this is Ginny." His mom was looking on skeptically, like the mama bear she was, but it was probably because she thought the two of them were dating. Definitely not the case._

"_Miss Nott__ here is a good…friend of mine. I just thought you guys should meet since we're so _close." _That was stretching the truth a bit, but he was trying to make a point. "Well that's all, we've got people to say goodbye to and such."_

"_Goodbye Harry, Gi- Mrs. Potter. Ready James?"_

"_Ready."_

"_Hurry back James, we're taking Vic to lunch soon." his mom said, completely ignoring Linden's goodbye. He cleared his throat rather obviously, and with a nudge from his dad, she gave in._

_"It was nice to meet you Linden," she said stiffly, "Have a good summer."_

_"Same to you. Bye!"_

_"I'll be back in a second guys." he said to his parents. __The two of them might have walked 10 ft away before James could no longer hold in his laughter. That had been hilarious. "You really are something."_

"_You're a dick, you know that?"_

"_What'd I do? I wanted to prove that I don't hate you or your background and I introduced you to the most important people in my life. So do you still think I'm prejudiced against you?"_

"_I mean, n__ot entirely."_

"_That's all I can ask for. I can't believe you froze up in front of my parents. Classic."_

"_It's Harry freaking Potter for crying out loud ,and you just threw me out there with no preparation or warning at all."_

"_He's just my dad, it's no big deal. And he seemed to like you so that's a good thing."_

"_Yeah, your mom hated me though, so I think you closed one door and opened another. I mean, I don't want her to hate me considering you and I are so close." she mocked._

"_She does not hate you,_ _I think she thought you were my girlfriend-"_

"_Ha! That's funny and terribly off. You and me together? Sounds like a sick joke."_

"_Yeah,_ _I have no clue where she got that from."_

"_Well what do you expect? You do go home durnig your breaks, missing me terribly, and talk about me loads." She said as she chuckled. "What kind of things do you tell your dad about me James? Do you tell him you think I'm preeeetty?"_

"_Not bloody likely. If anything I've told her you're the cause of the constant_ _pain in my left nut."_

"_You should get that checked out probably." she said smiling, "Well I have to go up to my room and pack; us mere mortals aren't allowed to leave school early instead of riding the train so they can have lunch with Harry Potter."_

"_Ha! Sucks to suck."_

"_Yeah, whatever." She said, as she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "Thank you James, for introducing me to your parents. I know I joke around, but it does means a lot to me to know that you still accept me even though my dad is who he is."_

"_You're welcome. And I'm sorry for being all…pratty or whatever."_

"_Aww, you're admitting it! Apology accepted."_

"_Great. So, uh, I guess I'll see you at Hollis' for her birthday?"_

"_Guess so. Then after that, we won't get to bother each other again until September."_

"_I have no clue how I'll make it through." he said sarcastically. "__I know we're not _really_ friends or anything but um…you know, if you get bored over the summer you can owl me or something. We could hang out I guess." She quirked an eyebrow suspiciously, but didn't laugh or anything._

"_Uh that'd be ok. Sure."_

"_Cool. Well I'll see you later."_

"_See you." She said as she walked away. James almost let himself smile at the prospect of seeing her outside of school but Fred popped around the corner immediately._

"_We could hang out I guess?" Fred mocked, "So what? You guys dating now?"_

"_Of course not! But now that I know her home life is less than satisfactory, I'd be an asshole to not offer at least."_

"_You're an asshole either way. Come on! I saw Teddy and Vic running to the castle and I wanna see what's up."_

* * *

><p>The relationship between James and Linden had really changed from the way it was when they first met. They had graduated from a purely hate-hate relationship, to a solid tolerate-hate relationship. The difference was that they now understood each others limits and were comfortable admitting that they were something close to being friends. There had been a short period after he introduced her to his parents where they were extremely nice to each other. She told him how much it meant to her that he proved her last name didn't change his feelings about her, and he was glad that they were talking again. They even owled each other once or twice and James had to admit it was very nice. He had almost even started <em>to like<em> her and felt that she may have felt the same. That had been almost a year ago. They were now in the second half of their fourth year and they had really reverted back to more of their old ways. They had both publicly verbalized that they regarded the other as friends in front of dependable witnesses, but they were back to being snarky and a little mean; and it wasn't cute or funny like when Lex and Roxy did it. Not at all.

When James Potter and Linden Love fought, they got down right dirty. He liked to blame it on Linden and her decorative vocabulary. In the four years they had known each other, she had graduated from her usual taunts of prick and prat to newer insults like fuck face, dipshit, and a vast array of other words that he could never say in return. Technically, he could say them, but contrary to what Linden Love believed, he had been raised with manners. He would never disrespect her because she reminded him too much of Lily, who in turn reminded him of his mother. James couldn't lie and say he didn't use foul language against her, he just wasn't as harsh as he would be with someone like Chase Finnegan. Everyone always wanted to know what his beef with Chase was, but James honestly couldn't tell you. Part of it was the way he treated Molly; James saw the way his dad was with his mom, and Teddy with Vic, and even his Uncle Ron with his Aunt Hermione. They never told them what to do like Chase did Molly, and Molly had been raised by enough strong minded women to know never to allow someone to regard her the way Chase does. Of course, he couldn't openly tell Molly that he cared so much about her feelings, so instead he was liable to lash out at Chase every now and then.

At least now he could take out his frustrations on the Quidditch pitch. He had been made Quidditch Captain, much to everyone's disliking, but it gave him a sort of responsibility and power that he enjoyed all too much. The team was better than ever- Roxy's words, not his- and people didn't think of him as a immature little boy anymore. He agreed that the team was almost perfect, but it was missing one thing. Dominique. He knew that she was going through some sort of quarter life crisis, but it had gone farther than he'd ever imagined. At first, when she'd started wearing girlier clothes and make-up, he would tease her just like he would any other time. It wasn't that she looked bad, he just wasn't used to her dressing like that and he was always looking for a reason to make other people laugh. There were no hard feelings, he just didn't know how else to respond. Luckily for him, she had a short rebound rate at that time and she had bounced back quickly. Soon after that, the occasional frilly sun dresses and lip gloss turned into shortened skirts, high heels, and enough make-up gunked on her face that she was unrecognizeable some days. It wasn't that she looked completely..._dishonorable_, but the things that the boys in school had been saying were enough to make anyone crazy. That's when he really started taking the piss with her.

In a way, it was like he was short with Dom in hopes that she might wake up and realize what she was doing to herself. He thought that maybe she'd hear the things he was saying and think that people who weren't family had to be saying things much worse. It was a good plan, but it hadn't worked. If anything she had drifted farther away. It wasn't like she didn't hang around anymore, it was just that she was mentally unavailable to anyone that wasn't her boy of the week or Zack- who was the only thing James could hate more than Chase Finnegan- or her bitchy friends. She was a completely new person and he wasn't sure that this was the best way to try to get her back, but it couldn't hurt to try. He walked up to his houses table where Dom and the rest of the brat pack were laughing at something, or more likely someone.

"Hey D, I mean, Dominque, can I talk to you for a second?"

"She's busy, Potter." Zack sneered.

"She can speak for herself, Longbottom. Especially since your tongue isn't down her throat, she's free to speak with me if she wants." James realized he shouldn't have said that, but it was too late now.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to talk to you, man. Why don't you run along with your merry little band of followers."

"You used to be one of those so-called followers, if you remember. Back in the day, one could even say you were leader of the band. Don't forget how you got where you are _Zack._"

"You really want to go there right now? I beat you at everything when we were kids and I can beat you now; or did _you_ forget _that?_"

"You know what? You're so big and tough, why don't we have a go right now?" he yelled as he threw his bag on the table and reached for his wand.

"I'd caution you not to pull that wand out Potter, you don't want to start with me."

"Oh but I do. I've been waiting three years for a reason to start with you."

"Alright, alright, back down, both of you!" Dom yelled, as she stood from the table. She grabbed his bag and started pushing him towards the door. "What the hell was that all about? Have you lost your mind?"

"That son of a bitch gets under my skin."

"Really? I couldn't tell at all." she said sarcastically. "Next time don't get him all riled up; I don't know what went down with you boys, but he really wants to fight you or duel with you or whatever."

"The feelings mutual, but there will be no next time. I'm done with him and you should be too. What could you possibly see in that shit for brains?"

"Honestly, he just gets it."

"Get's what?"

"I don't know..._it_! I can't even describe what it is but he knows. And I know the two of you have your issues but he's really sweet when he wants to be, and- wait, why am I explaining myself to you?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing." James swore he saw the corners of her mouth twitch a little, but she didn't smile. She had gotten really good at this whole not caring thing.

"Was there something other than my personal life that you'd like to talk about?"

"Yeah, Quidditch. You haven't been to a practice yet and if you don't show up soon McGonogall won't let me hold your spot much longer. You already missedhttp games and the reserves are...replaceable."

"Oh. You held my spot?"

"Yeah, the try outs were really just because McGonogall made me."

"My bad, I guess I should've said something sooner."

"Listen, it doesn't matter as long as you're there this afternoon-"

"James, I'm not playing Quidditch anymore. I quit."

"You did what? Why?"

"I don't like playing anymore, you can give my spot to Molly."

"Dom, I know you hate me right now and things have been weird between us, but you can't just quit. We've played together all of our lives, our strategies are foolproof."

"You can still use our plays James, I just won't be doing them." she said with a shrug. "How much longer will you need to be talking? I'm doing facials with the Davies twins after lunch." He couldn't believe her. She'd honestly rather smear gunk on her face with the two most vile girls in the entire school than do something that he knew she loved. She was mental!

"So that's it? You're just gonna give up on who you are, for real? Throw it all away to be popular? Come on that's not you."

"Throw what away, James? What exactly did I have? Don't try to act like you care so much about me and make it seem like you know me at all. You don't know me and Quidditch is not who I am; it's just a stupid sport! I don't want to play and get all sweaty, I don't want to spend more time than necessary with you, Roxy, and Al, I don't want to waste my Saturday's playing Quidditch when I could be with my boyfriend or my friends. Simple as that."

"You'd rather be with your boyfriend? Your _boyfriend_? He treats you like shit!"

"Well that's a hell of a lot better than the way you treat me, so I'll take it."

"You'll take it, huh? Let him use you, disrespect you in public? He doesn't even love you, he's with a new girl every week."

"I don't really care James, it's not that big of a deal. It's not like I want to marry him or anything, I'm just using him to occupy my time." James shook his head disapprovingly. He really didn't understand this girl anymore. Dom had always been that one person that he could count on. She used to be the glue that held them all together; she got along with everyone, had a good sense of humor, didn't get mad easily, and had her head on straight. Now, she was like a stranger to him. He couldn't tell you what she wore yesterday, let alone what she had been up to. Any information he got about Dominique was through Lily's latest gossip. "We done here?"

"Yeeh, I suppose we are."

"Great!" she said as she flipped her hair and made to walk away. He didn't mean to do it, but he had already reached out and grabbed her arm before he could change his mind. "What now James?"

"I'm sorry."

"For?" she asked impatiently. It was like she couldn't get away from him fast enough. He wanted to apologize for so many reasons. He was sorry for not appreciating her before; for not noticing her changes sooner; for never taking her seriously. He wanted to say all of those things, but he just couldn't. Not with her standing in front of him with her arms folded, tapping her foot and huffing like he was wasting her time.

"Sorry for keeping you from your facials." He said lamely. She just rolled her eyes and walked away quickly, probably hoping he wouldn't stop her again. James was really confused about this so he went to the one person that would give him brutally honest advice. He never went to the library, but he'd make an exception in this case. It was easy to find Linden sitting in the exact same table she's always at, reading a book while Carter and Hollis made googly eyes at each other. "Hey guys!"

"James!" Linden said happily at the sound of his voice. Yes, happily. She blushed at her mistake and he quirked and eyebrow, worried by her excitement at his entrance. This had never happened before.

"Happy to see me?" he asked, sitting next to her and covering her books page. She slapped his hand and he pulled it away dramatically. Her little love taps didn't hurt much anymore, he just like to humor her into thinking she had some kind of control over him.

"For once, yes. I'd rather fight with you than watch the love birds mentally bone each other." The two were now kissing and James had to admit it was really disturbing.

"You're just jealous that you're not mentally boning anyone. And don't use the term 'boning', it's so vulgar." Linden suddenly gasped and had a concerned look on her face.

"Oh god, Linden, are you ok?"

"I should be asking you the same thing! You came to the library on purpose without me dragging you? What's wrong?"

"Ha ha bloody ha!" he answered as she went back to reading her book. She was probably going to kill him soon if he kept interrupting her studying. She hated to be interrupted. "I am here for a reason though; I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"I'm having girl problems."

"Oh?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. Clearly she was interested because this news was enough to make her close her book and give him her undivided attention. "Who is she?"

"Dominique."

"Oh." She said, 10 times less enthusiastic than before. Even Carter broke apart from Hollis at the sound of her name and looked his way.

"I think something's seriously wrong with her."

"And that's an understatement if I've ever heard one." Hollis said. "That girl went from nuisance to bitch in like 3 days." James didn't have time to fuss with Hollis, but he could have sworn he saw Carter's nostril flair at his girlfriends comments. He had no clue what was up with that.

"On that note I think we should get out of here." Carter said as he grabbed both his and Hollis's books. "We'll see you guys in the Common Room."

"Now James, why on earth would you ask _me _for advice on Dominique? We haven't so much as waved at each other in a year and a half."

"Because you two are alike."

"In what way?"

"You're both blonde, you're both girls, you're both in Gryffindor, you're both from-."

"Oh my gosh, boys are stupid. What's the problem?"

"I think I've failed her as a cousin or friend or whatever. She always used to be so independent that I never really paid much attention to what was going on with her. I was busy watching out for everyone else and I kind of let her slip through the cracks."

"James, it's not your responsibility to take care of everyone. I don't know who gave you that idea, but you don't have to protect everyone. I know they're your family and I know you all are close, but you're all individuals and they can handle themselves. I'm sure of it because I've met their parents, none of whom have a timid bone in their bodies."

"But what happens when they need me?"

"They'll let you know."

"That's insane! Take Dom for instance, she doesn't know she needs me yet, but I see it. We were best friends for crying out loud."

"Dominique is a 14 year old girl and she's going to do what she wants. If she wants to wear make-up she can, and if she wants to date your arch enemy she can."

"I'm not even really mad because of Zack, I'm mad because she doesn't seem to care about anything. Not Quidditch, or school, or her reputation, or her family. She keeps finding excuses to distance herself from us and it just makes no sense."

"I don't think she's doing it on purpose, I just…I don't know what I think. But I remember the old Dominique and I know she's still in there. You just have to wait it out and let her go through what she's going through. If she's decided to distance herself, you trying to talk to her won't help. She has to want to change herself and I'm sure she will. Just give her time." She said as she reached over and squeezed his hand. She immediately went back to her work, but he couldn't help but notice how soft and warm her hands were. He wasn't dumb, but he always imagined her hands would be all cold and uninviting. They had never really touched like that before, and he found a part of himself wishing she would do it again. They had stopped talking, as she was back to reading her textbook, but he took the opportunity to really watch her. He couldn't help but smile every time she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose or chewed the end of her quill in concentration. James liked this version of her. She was kind and honest and had a comforting smile that made him trust her completely and in this moment he couldn't understand why he'd ever not like her.

"Why do we hate each other?" he asked suddenly. She didn't look up from her book but gave one of those rare, genuine smiles before answering.

"Because that's what we do, that's what we've always done."

"Hmm." She was right. There had never really been a starting point or anything, they just hadn't gotten along from the beginning. From the moment she spoke to him that first night in the castle, he couldn't stand her. They weren't that bad now, but they still had their moments. "Why do you think that is?"

"I dunno, I guess because we don't like each other." Good point. I mean technically, they didn't _like _each other. She really did get on his nerves and he wasn't always a bucket of sunshine, but he spent most of his time with her and for her it was the same; they knew each other extremely well, like to a creepy point; they studied together, ate together, and occasionally ganged up on other people. They may not like each other but there was something there.

"What don't you like about me?" For the second time tonight he had gotten her to close her book and pay attention to him. This was surprising, considering she'd normally let the library burn to the ground before she let anyone interrupt her schoolwork. She even put her books away and took her glasses off so that she looked like her normal self.

"Before I answer, do you want super nice Linden or "James" Linden?" _James' Linden?_ He knew she hadn't technically said it like that, but he found himself smiling at the sound of it.

"How about just Linden. The real you."

"I guess I don't like how arrogant you can be sometimes. It's like you know that you are amazing and you expect everyone else to as well. That's where I come in, because you need someone to knock you back down to reality. I do have to admit though, you're way better than you were in first year and I like to think that I had something to do with that."

"You're probably right."

"What about me?" she asked quietly. James noticed she was wringing her hands like she did when she was nervous and blushing, which was another new development. "What don't you like about me?"

"Well being completely honest, I guess... I don't not like you." Her jaw literally dropped and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Bullshit, James Potter. I'm calling bullshit."

"I knew you were going to say that." He said with a laugh, and she started laughing too. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Because- well I don't even know really. Because we're Linden and James, maybe? We get on each others nerves and we fight all the time and-"

"We're not fighting now." he said slowly. She sat back in her chair and narrowed her eyes.

"This is true." She said," I'm cherishing the moment because we may not have another for 1 or 2 years."

"This is very true."

"We can, um, change that you know? I mean, we can work on having less crazy moments and more of these, whatever it is moments we're having. If you want, of course."

"I guess it couldn't hurt." He said with a shrug, hoping he had paused long enough before answering and didn't sound too excited.

"Good. But I'm still a strong-minded woman and am not afraid to put you in your place if necessary."

"I wouldn't want you any other way Love."

"Exactly! What fun would that be?"

"No fun at all." He said, allowing an uncomfortable silence to fall between them. They had dealt with a lot of things in their time of knowing each other but never had there been a moment where both of them had nothing to say.

"Well this is awkward, I'm gonna go to bed." She said as she started to pack up her things.

"Want me to walk you back?"

"Nah, I'm ok."

"Alright; well I'll catch up with you in the morning."

"Ok, seeya then." She said as she turned to walk away, "Oh wait, the getting along thing; does that start immediately?"

"Oh yes, Carter and Hollis will shit their pants when they see us getting along in the morning. Fred will love it."

"It should be interesting." She started to walk away but turned around quickly. "Hey, Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"I _guess _I don't not like you too." James couldn't even help the goofy grin that spread across his face. "Goodnight."

"Night." When she had finally gotten out of the library James let out a huge breath. How was it that he had gone from not exactly being friends with her to wishing she'd let him walk her to her room in the same day? He'd looked at her too many times to count in their time at school, but today it was different. Today she didn't have her guard up and she had acted completely different with him. He couldn't deny that he had started it by asking her such a question and he had really done it when he tried to tell her he liked her without actually saying the words. James couldn't believe he was saying it; but he might actually like her.

"Thinking about Linden, are we?"

"Jesus, Fred! Why do you just appear places?!"

"It's a gift. So, I'm no genius, but it sounds to me like you like her."

"And if I do?"

"Do something about it! Don't just keep having these weird mushy moments in secret. Speaking as a third party outsider with no personal interest in your affairs, I think you should go for it."

"Yeah? I don't think she likes me though."

"Well, there's only one way to find out, mate."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:** _**I LOVE Linden and James. So much. Day 3 of updating daily and it's going very well! It's the least I can do since you guys are so AMAZING! If I ever write a novel (which I plan to) I am dedicating it to you guys. Seriously. I will come on here, get all your user names, and shout you guys out lol That's how much I appreciate the love and dedication :-)**

**-Jazz**


	15. Stutterin'

"There's a whole lot of things that I will forgive  
>But I just can't take a liar<br>I was by your side 'til the very end  
>'til you pushed me in the fire<br>Hurry up, hurry up  
>If you ever really cared about me<br>Tell the truth, give it up  
>You sound guilty, 'cause you're stutterin'"<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Molly Olivia and Roxanne Aurora Weasley, get your asses out of this bed this instant!" Molly heard someone scream. Neither of them moved at first, but they were suddenly doused with a stream of freezing cold water; and that definitely got them moving. Molly looked around the room and saw Teddy standing in front of them with his arms crossed in that 'you're in so much trouble' way. Molly looked over at her cousin and they were both still rocking the outfits they'd worn to Carson's party, or in other words, dressed completely inappropriately. "The two of you better start explaining or I swear to Merlin there will be serious consequences."_

"_The two of us?" Roxy asked confused. She looked around the room and Molly waved at her. "Oh look, Molly's here!"_

_Roxy's confusion softened him; a little. "Where were you guys last night and what on earth gave you the idea to drink?"_

_"We weren't drinking-"_

_"Don't try to lie to me, right now. You both look like hell Molly."_

_"Well I was just drenched with water, thank you very much. A drying spell would be aprreciated."_

_"This behavior is unacceptable and I can't believe-"_

"_Don't act like you never drank. Remember the night you won the Quidditch Cup? You were wearing your pants on your head and singing God Save the Queen. You were pissed." Roxy said with a laugh, like they weren't getting in trouble right now. If she kept talking the both of them would be sent home._

"_It was Carson's birthday last night and I can't tell you any more than that cause you're a teacher now and being a snitch is so not cute." Molly recovered._

"_Sloppy drunks aren't so cute either, but neither of you seem to mind!"_

"_Teddy, please! Must you yell? Be mad or disappointed in us, owl our parents, give us detention, whatever! Just please stop yelling." Teddy let out a frustrated sigh, clearly aware that he wouldn't get anywhere with the two hung-over teenagers._

"_Drink this!" he said, handing them each a small flask. Molly downed the potion and thought it had never tasted so good. "Get some rest, I'll be back in a few hours. Don't think I'll forget about this." He walked out of the room and slammed the door making both girls jump slightly._

"_Uggh, I feel better already." Roxy said as she plopped back down on the bed. "What happened last night?"_

"_I'm not really sure. I saw you by the drinks when I got there but you were already pretty done for; then you danced with some guy named 'blondie' and the next time I saw you was when I climbed in your bed."_

"_Blondie? Who the hell is that?"_

"_I honestly couldn't tell you, but he's probably a Ravenclaw. He looked your age."_

"_Blue eyes or brown?"_

"_Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't have time to fully examine his facial features during a party!" she said, making Roxy roll her eyes._

"_I was just asking_. _Whatever, it doesn't matter who it was." She said, as if that wasn't a big deal._

"_Whatever? That's it? You danced with another guy and all you can say is whatever?What if Lex finds out?"_

"_It was just dancing, nothing else happened. Plus, Lex knows that dancing with other people doesn't mean anything to me. He knows how I feel about him and he trusts that I won't go farther than a little dancing." Molly could only raise an eyebrow in response._

"_Seriously? So it doesn't bother you when he dances with other girls?"_

"_No. Anyone can dance with anyone, it's not a big deal for us. He might dance with other girls but he doesn't cuddle with them, or confide in them, or _love_ them. Those things are specifically reserved for me, so he can dance with a girl if he wants." __Molly hated to say it, but she was kind of jealous of Roxy and Lex's relationship. It just seemed so natural and full of trust and understanding. They were truly supposed to be together._

"_Well where was Lex anyway?"_

"_Patrolling, remember? We definitely talked about this. It was half the reason I left so early. He stopped by for a second and after he left, all I remember is listening to Chase's spiel about drinking, then I sort of remember seeing you and Carson together. How did you end up in here?"_

"_After a very embarrassing journey across the castle, I went to my room to sleep but _then _I walked in on Mads and Brooks having sex and kinda left."_

"_Oh my god! They're having sex now?" she asked. "I thought Brooks was being celibate?"_

"_Apparently not. I didn't wanna interrupt so I tried to go to Chase's room but didn't quite make it."_

"_Clearly. Why did you guys come to the party separately anyway?" she asked._

"_We had a fight. He kept asking if I wanted to go or not and I didn't want to because I was trying to just have some alone time so we could remember what it was like to just be together. I figured I'd try getting on his page for once so I thought we'd skip the party."_

"_Did you consider maybe he wanted to try and get on your page? That might explain why he wanted to go so badly."_

" _Of course I didn't think about that, this is me we're talking about. In my defense, he was acting ever more strange than usual. It was like he was trying to get me to be mad at him because he kept pushing and pushing until I practically shoved him out of the door. One thing led to another and we were fighting and he stormed out, then I felt like an idiot sitting all by myself so I went too."_

"_Wait a minute, you were gonna stay? But it was Carson's birthday!" As soon as she heard her friends name a whole new set of memories from last night flooded her mind._

"_I know, and I felt like such an ass for forgetting, but then I danced with him to make up for it."_

"_Uh oh." Roxy said nervously._

"_What do you mean, uh oh?"_

"_I mean, uh oh, you dancing with Carson was probably not a great idea. Chase was there you know."_

"_He had left by then I think. But aren't you the one that just said anyone can dance with anyone? What happened to trust and all that?"_

"_Anyone can dance with anyone in a normal, healthy relationship. You don't have that, your boyfriend is a psycho."_

"_So dancing with him was bad?"_

"_Uh, have you met your boyfriend? He hates Carson."_

"_Well that's not even the worst part. Me and Carson- well, we almost kissed."_

"_I'm sorry," Roxy said calmly, " my ears must be clogged or something. What did you just say?"_

"_Carson and I kind of almost kissed."_

"_YOU WHAT?!"_

"_Shhhhh. We both feel awful about it."_

"_I doubt Carson feels that badly about it but Holy hell, are you going to tell Chase?"_

"_Should I?"_

"_Probably. Otherwise he might hear it from someone else and think you were keeping things from him. You know how sensitive he is."_

"_I should tell him soon before people start talking about last night." she said. _

"_If Teddy's already come to yell at us I'm pretty sure people are already talking about it."_

"_Crap, guess I'm going to tell him now." She said walking to the door._

"_Wait! You need to shower first and put on something presentable."_

"_You do the same." She said with a laugh as she looked them over once more. "We look like two wannabe cray party girls."_

"_So what? We're sixteen; we can do whatever we want!" Molly laughed as she heard Roxy repeat her words from last night almost exactly._

"_You never cease to amaze me. I love you!"_

"_Love you too Mo! Good luck!" Roxy shouted back, and Merlin did she need it. After showering and making herself look more presentable she walked into the Common Room completely prepared to face her boyfriend. She didn't see him in his usual spot so she walked up to his room. She knocked on the door and Chase answered with an unreadable expression on his face. _

"_Oh Molly, it's you!" _Yeah, who else would it be?_ He grabbed her up in a hug and she replied to his enthusiasm willingly. He smelled weird. It was a familiar smell, but it wasn't one that was usually associated with him. Maybe she was just going crazy. "I was so worried about you! Where have you been? Usually you find me on these nights."_

"_Oh. I kind of fell asleep in Roxy's bed after…well, you know." She said sad that they had jumped to this part of the conversation so quickly. _

"_Roxy's bed?" he asked_

"_Yeah, I kinda crashed there after the party. Speaking of, did you have a good time? I saw you talking with Madison."_

"_Uhm, no no not r-really. I was k-kind of angry from the fight and when I saw you I figured you were pissed considering you didn't come over."_

"_We could've completely avoided that fight if you'd reminded me it was Carsons birthday party! How could you let me forget?"_

"_It slipped my mind until I got there." _Of course it did.

"_I don't really care, I just want us to be us again; the old us. Like, my third year, us."_

"_Me too."_

"_Well good, but-"_

"_But?"_

"_I have to tell you something, and you're probably going to get upset but if we're going to start over we have to be honest with each other. Just please hear me out, ok? I don't think we can stand another fight." He nodded his head in a mute agreement and she figured she couldn't stall any longer. "Well last night, I was dancing with Carson a bit…suggestively, and we almost, well I almost kissed him." Chase didn't respond and she used the silence as an opportunity to explain herself before he got mad. "But nothing happened! And I felt terrible once I realized what I almost did. Then afterwards all I could think about was apologizing but I couldn't really get to you cuz I was uhhhh-"_

"_Drunk." He finished._

"_Yeah." She said shamed. "It will never ever ever happen again, can you please forgive me?" she asked_

"_Yeah, let's just put it all past us." He said fairly quickly. Just last week she had to beg for a whole day for him to forgive her for saying Lex was fit._

"_Really?"_

"_Really. I love you so much Molly. I know it seems like I'm crazy, but that's only because I care so much about you. I just want to feel in love again."_

"_Chase, we never stopped!" she said as she hugged him happily. "But while we're on the subject is there anything you want to tell me?" He moved back from the hug and blushed a little before shaking his head._

"_No. If - if I did I'd tell you now. But trust me Molly, I love you. No matter what."_

"_I love you too."_

* * *

><p>It had been about 3 months since she and Chase had rekindled their relationship, and things had been good; until recently. They weren't as lovey-dovey as they had been in the beginning, but they weren't as angry as they were during the end of last year. It was…comfortable, but distant. She figured they were just having a tiff; and they'd pull through it like they always did, because they always did. She loved him with all her heart, no matter what her idiotic friends said.<p>

"How's life as a married woman been treating you?" Lex asked, interrupting her thoughts as he sat down at the table. Brooks laughed and his twin sister Blithe smacked him in the back of the head.

"Says the guy whose girlfriend has him by the balls." she teased back. This time it was Blithe's turn to laugh.

"Hey, she can do whatever she wants with them. I'm not going to complain about it."

"You're an idiot, Alvarez." Carson said as he walked to the Hufflepuff table with Kristina. "Evening, everyone." Right as the food appeared Chase and Madison walked in wearing identical expressions; like they had just found out the worst news in the world. As if they were programmed, the two of them said hello to the others and took their seats by their significant others. Chase wrapped his arm around Molly and Madison just put food on her plate while staring off into space. "And the award for most melodramatic entrance goes to…" Carson boomed imitating an announcers' voice.

"Shut it Bennett." Chase snapped.

"Seriously, are you two okay?" Blithe asked in a voice that sounded more annoyed than concerned. Neither responded and Molly had to nudge Chase to get his attention.

"Uh, yeah yeah. Everything is a- a fine." He stuttered unconvincingly. He'd been stuttering a lot lately and Molly didn't know what was up with that.

"Oh Madison! Your birthday's coming up and you still haven't told me what you want!" Kristina said randomly. "Are you listening?" she said snapping her fingers in the girl's ear. She jumped from the sound and Brooks swatted her hand away.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Madison, are you sure?"

"Yes!" she screamed, throwing everyone off. Madison never got angry or upset at anything. It was obvious something was really bothering her.

"Babe, none of us knows what's going on and we're worried; do you want to talk about it?" he asked. She looked up at him and put on a smile that Molly could tell was forced

"Yeah, um we need to talk." She said quietly before getting up. He hesitated for a second before following her out of the Great Hall.

"Shit, nothing good ever comes after 'we need to talk'" Carson stated, "I think she's going to break up with him." _Well obviously._

"That bitch better not." Blithe said darkly, "Friends or no friends, I'll kill her if she breaks his heart. Seriously though, he's in an insane amount of love with her and that would break his heart." Molly held on tighter to Chase's arm reflexively and Molly understood what she meant. Brooks was the most compassionate, kind, loving person she had ever met and it was obvious he loved her a lot.

"Maybe she really just wants to talk?" Molly suggested hopefully. Chase snorted and Molly turned to look at him "Do you know what's going on then?"

"Yeah, you and Madison are pretty close." Carson added in an accusing tone.

"No we're not. It's their business so just let them worry about it. Ready to go?" he asked as he started to get up.

"Apparantley so. Lex, you coming?" her Gryffindor friend walked out with her and the three of them made their way to the common room in complete silence. Molly immediately went to sit in their corner where she saw Roxy sitting in her usual seat. She didn't know Chase wasn't following her until Roxy asked if he was going to sit with them or keep being a social mute. It looked like he was about to continue up the stairs but everyone's attention was diverted when someone burst through the Portrait hole.

"Brooks?" she asked confused, but she decided not to press further because he looked _pissed. _She hadn't known him to get angry about anything the entire time they'd been friends. She was a little frightened honestly when a crying Madison finally walked into the room. "Mads, what's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you _fucking _lie Madison." Brooks spat. Molly couldn't believe something had gotten him this upset.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Chase said defending the poor girl.

"Are you seriously speaking to me right now? You're just asking for me to punch the living shit out of you aren't you?"

"Whoa, hold on. What the hell is going on here?" Roxy said getting up from the couch. Madison began crying again and that seemed to set everything in motion.

"Tell her!" Brooks demanded. When she only sniffled and continued crying in response he went on. "You tell her or I will." Molly looked at her friend and just couldn't understand what could be the problem.

"Tell me what?" Molly asked worried. Madison looked from her to Brooks about three times before breaking into a scary amount of tears. Molly was still lost but she couldn't bear seeing her friend so upset. She hugged her tightly and patted her hair, but that only seemed to make her worse. "What is it Mads? You can tell me."

"I'm pregnant." She choked out before crying even harder. "Molly, I'm so so so sorry. I'm sorry, I can't believe I did it. I'm so sorry." She apologized over and over. Madison was still apologizing and Molly just couldn't take it anymore.

"Why does she keep apologizing?" Molly asked to no one in particular. "You're gonna be okay, you and Brooks will get through this; everything's going to work out."

"It's not…I'm not the father." Brooks said sadly. _What the hell? _Roxy gasped suddenly in realization and Molly wished she could figure it out too, but it just wasn't adding up to her. Madison had cheated on Brooks, but she didn't see what the big scene was necessary for. She looked at Brooks, who was glaring at Chase, who was just standing there like a deer in headlights and looking at anything but her. A strange feeling in her stomach made her take her arms from around Madison and back up from her as fast as she could. Roxy, who had obviously figured this all out, was being restrained by Lex, who was also glaring at Chase. Why was everyone staring at him? And why was he looking guilty? All it took was for Madison to apologize once more for everything to click.

Chase was the father.

She looked at him and had to take deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating.

"Molly, listen-" he started.

"When?" she asked in an empty voice.

"Molly, if you just let me explain-"

"WHEN?" she screamed.

"The…the night of Carson's birthday party." He answered. Madison was still crying and apologizing and if she didn't stop Molly was really going to give her a reason to cry.

"But that's impossible! I saw her that night in our room with Brooks; I walked in on her and…and…and that was _you_." How stupid could she be? Madison's crying was borderline ridiculous now and Chase went into full 'cover your ass' mode.

"We- we had just had that fight! And I was so stressed out. I didn't know you guys hadn't kissed until you told me the next morning. When I saw you and Carson together at that party it sent me over the edge and I just wanted to feel wanted. I felt terrible about it and when you walked in on us I just-"

"Wait! You saw me and Carson that night? So you knew nothing happened and you let me come begging for your forgiveness like some pathetic little skank? I felt like shit about what I did and you just let me make a fool of myself then lied to my face." If Molly never felt like an idiot she was definitely feeling it now. Did he love her? Had ever really loved her? All of those times he and Madison would go off and talk and how they'd been acting weird lately were all making sense. It made way too much sense and only a complete dummy could have missed it. " So you got mad and tried to hurt me ans much as I hurt you? It _looked_ like I kissed my friend so you decided to have sex with Madison?"

"Molly, I'm sorry!" he started.

"You're not sorry, you weren't even going to tell me! She told me and she's not even my fucking boyfriend! You're pathetic."

"It was a mistake!" he yelled.

"A mistake? A mistake is when you forget to owl someone back! This was not a mistake. This, this was cheating!"

"How many times do I have to say it meant nothing to me? It was just sex and It. Meant. Nothing." He said, getting angry. "Don't be _stupid_ Molly. I love you not _her." _At these words Madison wept even harder if you could believe it. He was such an insensitive toad. "Just let me explain before you get all-"

"I don't want to hear it! There is no explanation strong enough to make any of this ok."

"For fucks sake you don't listen! Will you just listen to me?!"

"Are you- are you getting mad at me? You knocked up another girl and you're pissed at _me_? You pathetic, lying, psycho, ass hole! Everyone told me you weren't good for me and I told them they were crazy! I defended you and loved you and this is how you repay me?"

"You defended me? When, Molly? I take shit from people about you all of the time! Your demented little family puts me down any chance they get and you let them get away with it. They hated me for no reason and I put up with it for you!" Molly was on her way to slap the shite out of him but Lex was now holding her back.

"Don't _ever_ say a word against my family or so help me I will curse you so hard that your bastard child will feel it." She threatened. Her words had made Madison flinch and touch her stomach protectively. No one said another word and Chase stormed out of the Common Room like the coward that he was.

"Molly-" Madison squeaked through her tears.

"Just, don't."

"I'm so sor-"

"I said don't!" How could everything in life be so wrong? This was just wrong. Her best friend was having a baby by her boyfriend-well, ex-boyfriend- and that made her sick. Literally. She freed herself from Lex's hold and ran to the bathrooms with Roxy hot on her heels. Thankfully she made it to the toilet before throwing up and she felt Roxy rubbing her back soothingly. The Gryffindor in her hadn't let her cry in front of all of those people who had hurt her, but now she was alone and she broke down. Roxy had tried to get her to stand up but she couldn't move anything and the sudden motion made her throw up again. She cried and cried and cried until it hurt her throat and her head were throbbing.

She felt Roxy lift her off the ground and wanted to hold some of her own weight, but she had no control over anything. Roxy placed her in a bed and Molly prayed it wasn't her own; because she didn't want Madison or her other roommates to see her like this. Roxy climbed into bed with her and held her in the comforting way their Grandmother used to do when they got hurt when they were little. She couldn't believe she was being so weak right now. She should never have let a boy get this close to her; just like her father and uncles and cousins and Teddy had always told her.

All the crying and puking had worn her out, and she was sleeping in no time. She didn't dream, but even though she was sleeping her brain was still going a mile a minute. She would prefer the random thoughts to a dream though. Dreams were happy and she quite frankly wasn't. Madison was having Chase's baby. Her closest friend and her boyfriend had gone and had sex behind her back.

Well, clearly he wouldn't be her boyfriend anymore but it was going to take her a while to get used to not saying that. If he didn't want to be with her he could've said so; he didn't have to lie about it. Poor Brooks would probably kill himself, then Blithe would probably kill Madison, and Chase might kill Blithe, and her whole family would relapse to their death eater days and each have a go at Chase. That was great for all of them, but who would make Molly's pain go away? She wouldn't kill herself because she was too selfish, and no one would off her because they'd be too busy treating her like the victim for a while.

The way she saw it, she had two options. Option one consisted of her playing the sad, wounded, scorned, ex-girlfriend. That didn't sound too appealing so she decided on Option two, where she just got over it. How hard could it be right? Realistically, she didn't even really get to be _that _upset. Sure, she got cheated on and her best friend was involved, but the two of them were going to be parents. _That really sucks for them. _It would be selfish for Molly to play the victim because Madison and Chase clearly cared about her; they didn't need to see her publicly depressed on top of what they were about to go through. So, she decided she was going to take the high road on this one. She didn't think she could talk to them or even think about them much, but she wasn't going to waste her time or energy hating them; they didn't deserve it.

With that being said she figured it was time to get up and get the day started. She woke up and it felt like her throat was filled with sandpaper. Trying to get out of the bed she accidentally woke up Roxy, who was looking at her like she was anticipating tears. "Molly, you're up! How are you feeling?" Molly let out a laugh at the stupid question.

"I'm feeling like shit. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit for asking that. Sorry. Actually, I'm feeling pissed about what that dip shit Ch-"

"Don't say his name. Please."

"Sorry. I'm sucking at this. I usually know what to say but I'm just at a loss here. What should I say? There has to be a way I can make you feel better right? I just know you're hurting, and when you hurt, I hurt and…what can I do?" she asked with tears starting to come to her eyes.

"You can just not say anything about it. And don't cry; crying doesn't help anything. I learned that last night."

"Last night?" Roxy asked confused. "Molly, you slept all day yesterday, the fight happened the night before last. It was like you were in a coma or something."

"Really? It's been that long?" It felt like she'd only been asleep for an hour or two.

"Yeah, I would have taken you to the hospital wing but I figured you wouldn't want that. Teddy said if you didn't wake up by tonight you were going to Madame Pomfrey."

"Teddy? Please don't tell me he knows."

"I'm sorry. I had to tell someone, I thought you were-"

"It's alright, I probably would have done the same. He doesn't know everything does he?"

"No, just that you and Ch- him had a disagreement. So how should we handle the situation?"

"Let's just…let's just move on I guess."

"Move on?"

"Yeah. Starting with breakfast, then class, just like every other day. Except-" she said thinking about a very important detail "I don't want to stay in my room for a while, what should I do?"

"You shouldn't have to move out of your room, that bitch should be the one to leave. But I don't mind you staying here with me. James and Fred can help me get your stuff out."

"Yeah, let's do that as soon as possible. But anyway, breakfast?" Roxy nodded and they both got ready in silence after Molly accioed some of her essential belongings. She tried doing everything the way she would have before, but it was hard. She pulled out her hair straightener for the first time in years and took her time on the hair that now fell to her hips. She put on her make-up and uniform and went back into Roxy's room "How do I look?"

"Amazing! Your hair is gorgeous!"

"Yeah? I think I'm going to cut it." She said, earning a sigh from Roxy.

"Are you really, absolutely positive that you want to do this? I'm sure Ted will understand if you just miss his class."

"Listen, I can sit in your room and mope for weeks but it's not going to change anything. The past still will have happened and there will still be a baby in the future, being upset will only hurt me and frankly I think I've been hurt enough. So promise me you won't feel bad for me, because I don't want you wasting your time. And let the others know that too, because I just know they know; I'm fine, so they don't have to worry. Now, we've missed breakfast, because of this crazy Rapunzel hair, so to class then?" Roxy threw her arms around her in a big hug.

"To class." They linked arms and made their way down to the Common Room. _I can do this. _They walked into the general sitting area and it wasn't a big surprise that she saw 8 familiar faces wearing a mixture of angry, concerned and sad looks. She could see them all about to explode with comments and questions but Roxy had her back. "Hey! Before anyone says anything, well… don't. Molly is fine. If she needs you she'll let you know, otherwise let it alone."

"But-"James started.

"But, let it alone." It was really comforting to see that her family had her back. They had been annoying and rude to Chase, but they were only trying to protect her and it turns out they were right. James, Fred, Louis and Lily looked extremely angry; and Al, Rose, Hugo and look concerned; Dominique was _there_ and that meant so much. It was really sweet and she couldn't resist giving each of them a hug.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Dom asked, after receiving her hug. "You just hugged all of us voluntarily. Me included."

"I'm fine. Thanks for being here for me; I really appreciate it, but if we don't leave now we'll all be in detention."

She and Roxy left, trusting that everyone else would make it to their classes, but Molly could sense her cousins plotting. They probably wanted to do something awful to Chase, and she wouldn't bother stopping them because they didn't listen to her anyway. They came up to her classroom and Roxy hugged her one last time. "I'm right next door if you need me."

"I'll always need you Rox, you're the smart one. I'm just the…loud one."

"Well today you're the strong one. What you're doing, the way you're handling this is just…you've really grown up Mo."

"Don't call me Mo." She said with a smile. "Now go to class!" She walked into Teddy's classroom went straight to her seat, not looking at anything as Ted continued to talk as if he hadn't even noticed her being so late. Right after she took her sea,t her former best friend walked in the door with big puffy red eyes and a pale complexion. _Probably morning sickness. _She felt Carson tense up next to her and Teddy's hair began turning red at the tips.

"Ms. Harrington, tardiness will not be tolerated." He snapped. Well, that wasn't fair. Molly had just come in and he hadn't said a word.

"Yes sir." She replied softly. "It won't happen again."

"What's up baby mama?" a boy yelled from the back of the room, making everyone laugh. She ignored the comment and walked to her usual seat, but when she got to the table Kristina put her bag in Madison's seat without even giving her a second glance. She continued through the room silently and the only seat available was in the very back with the boy who had called her baby mama. Molly tried to ignore her concerned best friend instincts and pay attention to what her cousin was saying, but the awkward tension she was feeling from Carson was throwing her off considerably. She tapped him on the shoulder and waved; maybe he hadn't noticed her come in.

"Hey sweetheart, how you feeling?" _Sweetheart?_

"Ok no, we're not doing this whole pity Molly thing. I'm fine, ok?"

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm- Ow!" she said as something hit her in the head. It was a note that could only be from one person. "Merlin help me." She said quietly as she opened the note.

_Molly,_

_Can we please be mature about this and talk? _

_-Madison_

The fact that that girl had even considered that she might respond to this note was a bit of a slap in the face to Molly. She wanted nothing more but to run back there and punch her in the eye; which proved that even though she kept repeating it, Molly wasn't fine at all. She folded the note back up and quickly set it on fire before Ted could stop her. She rubbed the ashes on the floor and concentrated hard on the board. _How's that for immature? _No matter how many spells Teddy told them to copy or how many questions she watched her classmates answer, all of her thoughts kept drifting back to Chase. The day he asked her out, the time she met his parents, the first time he said he loved her, when he kicked her off the team, when they first made love, their first fight, the time he forgot her birthday, the way he would tear her down, how jealous he was, all of their other fights, the night she walked in on him and Madison, and finally, the night she found out he had cheated on her. She also vaguely remembered a time when they used to have more good memories than bad. Molly could feel tears trying to form, but Carson held her hand from under the table. She was so not over this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **_**No more Chase and Molly :-( I know people (very few) liked them together but I feel like I've exhausted their story line. I'm a little sad about it because this was the first relationship I wrote in The Ties that Bind BUT we're all moving on! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't be afraid to review! I read and respond to all!**

**-Jazz**


	16. Listen

_**Flashback**_

* * *

><p>"<em>Lucy, Professor Beery will see you now." The Headmaster's creepy, old assistant said slowly. Lucy was extremely nervous for her end-of-semester evaluation for about ten million good reasons. She stood from her chair and returned the thumbs up that Lorcan-who had just finished his evaluation- gave her, even though she didn't feel good at all. There was only two ways that this could end, and she was guessing that she might very well be looking at one of her last meetings with the Headmaster.<em>

"_Miss Weasley! I see we've saved one of the best for last!" the Professor said heartily. He was always enthusiastic; this didn't mean that she was going to get a good evaluation. "How are you liking WADA?"_

"_It's great Professor; I've learned a lot, met some new people, and found out a lot about myself."_

"_Glad to hear it dear. Now on to your evaluations. Are you aware of how the system works?"_

"_Not really."_

"_That's all right, I'll just give you a brief description. During each semester, your teachers are closely watching your participation and improvement in their courses. At the end they give me your final grades and comments on how they feel you've done. For our core classes you are given the standard T-O marks, which you will receive by mail in the weeks following the end of the semester. After that, we will move on to your Arts courses. You will still be getting feedback on your performance in the course, but you will not receive the standard marks. At the beginning of your time here, every student starts off as a Level One and it is expected that you reach Level 3 by your third year, and Level 5 by your seventh. Failure to meet these expectations can result in expulsion or probation. Each semester, based on your improvement and potential, your teacher has the choice of keeping you at your Level or moving you up to a more advanced one, which brings more opportunities for you at the school. It is rare that first years move at all until the very end of the year, as it is hard to catch up at such a young age. Any questions?"_

"_Well, what kind of opportunities does each level get?"_

"_Level One's are at a basic training Level. You are not allowed to audition for major performances, but are welcome to participate in the many showcases held throughout the year. This level is all about the fundamentals and understanding your craft. Level Two's have auditioning privilege in some productions, but will not be considered for any lead or major roles without an additional evaluation prior to the audition. Level Three's may audition for any role in any show, but are not guaranteed a spot over any Level, including One's and Two's. So for instance, if you audition for an eligible part and outperform a Level three auditioning for the same part, you can still get that part over them. Level Four's are expected to audition for all major productions and are usually hand-picked for roles in smaller productions. They may audition for lead roles, but nothing is guaranteed. Lastly, is Level Five. These are students that have been deemed masters of their craft and are given first pick of roles. They are usually hand-picked for all roles and are responsible for setting an example in their concentration. Does that all make sense?"_

_Lucy figured she had gotten him to stall long enough so she decided to let him continue to the part they were actually here for. "Yes, I get it now."_

"_Excellent; let's start with Academics, shall we?"_

"_Ok." She had always liked receiving good news first._

"_You are very bright Miss Weasley, top marks in your year and astounding feedback from the teachers. I think that you are coming along just fine in all of your subjects, especially Charms and Transfiguration. Well done, Lucy."_

"_Thank you, sir."_

"_On to your Arts courses." Lucy groaned internally, and prepared for the terrible news. "According to Madame Bourdeaux you have improved tremendously in your ballet and modern classes. She has requested that you remain in Level One for now, but is predicting that you could start out as high as Level Three in your second year."_

"_Really?" she asked in disbelief, "Are you sure?"_

"_I'm quite sure Miss, I have Madame's comments right in front of me. She says that you heed instructions quickly and are extremely disciplined, poised, and graceful. Well done."_

"_Thank you ."_

"_Now we have drama. Again, you have left quite the impression on your Professor. He has written that you have more potential in you pinky toe than some of his Level four students possess in their whole bodies. You will be advancing to Level Two starting after the break." Lucy really had nothing to say; she hadn't done anything special in her drama class and had no idea her Professor Evans had even watched her in his class. "On to Music, in which you have chosen to focus in vocal performance. I think we can skip the comments, and it's safe to say that this will speak for itself; your teacher has requested that you be moved up to Level Five, starting immediately."_

"_What? That's- but, you said it was rare that first years get moved! How is this even possible?"_

"_It may be rare for first years to move, but it is also rare to find a young girl with as much charisma and talent that you have. You, and a handful of others from your year, have far exceeded the expectations of a first year student here. You have been blessed with a gift Lucy Weasley, and I am predicting very, very bright things in your future."_

"_So I'm not in trouble? For..you know-" It wasn't that she had done badly in any performances; she was mainly worried about the fact that in the course of the year so far, she had managed to perform in a grand total of zero shows. She wasn't sure that her teachers would find that to be WADA material, especially considering the fact that there was a new show or concert almost every week._

"_I know you have shied away from any showcases, but we are not going to count it against you. Although, we are expecting to see something from you at the beginning of the next semester. Have you planned on anything?"_

"_Yes. Claire, Lorcan, and I are preparing a piece over the break. We're actually meeting at my house this weekend to get started."_

"_You, Scamander and Lune?" he asked curiously, "I look forward to it. Now I'm just going to wrap up by saying your teachers will give you the tools to learn, but it is up to you to use them to improve and excel in Dramatic Arts. I may have faith in you, and your teachers may as well, but if you don't believe in yourself none of it will amount to anything. Congratulations."_

"_Thank you so much sir! I swear I'll do better."_

"_You're welcome, now run along, it's the holiday!" she jumped out of her seat quickly and rushed past the secretary so fast that she didn't have time to open the door. She was more than pleased with herself and couldn't wait to share the news with her parents. _

"_Mom! Molly!" she screamed, as she ran towards the person she loved the most in the world-and Molly. She hadn't even realized how much she'd missed them until now._

"_Lucy doll! I've missed you so much!"_

"_Me too! Where's dad?" Her mom and sister shifted uncomfortably, but hid whatever they were feeling well._

"_He had to work late today, it's been busy at the ministry." Things at the ministry must have gone buck wild this year because Lucy's dad was always "busy" lately and he had barely contacted her at all. "Ready to go?"_

"_Yes." She said sadly. Something was definitely up with her dad. Molly went on her own, and Lucy and her mom apparated home together. Lucy couldn't wait to go back into her room, which used to be her safe haven. She opened the door, but instead of being greeted with the calm and tidiness of her home, she was greeted with three screaming family members._

"_Surprise!" Louis, Hugo and Lily screamed in unison. It was a moment that should have made her cry, but she was just too excited to see her best friends._

"_Hi everyone! I thought you guys were going to one of your Hogwarts friend's houses or something?"_

"_We lied, silly!" Lily squealed, "So we could surprise you!"_

"_You really thought we'd see someone else over you? Not likely."_

"_Alright everyone," her mother had to scream over the jumping and squealing, "Let's get to the table; dinner's ready. Molly, go get your father."_

"_I thought he was working late?" Lucy asked._

"_Who's working late?" her dad asked as he came down the stairs._

"_You are; or at least I was told that you were. Hey, dad."_

"_Hi. So Audrey, dinner's ready?" he asked as he walked to the dining room. Lucy could not believe that he was actually ignoring her. As she walked to the table, she tried to imagine what she had done to make him upset. They hadn't spoken in a while but that was because he hadn't responded to any of her letters. He was being really rude, and Lucy didn't like it. She knew Molly had always been his favorite, but this was ridiculous. She sat at the table with her parents, sister, and cousins in an uncomfortable silence that was not standard for this group. "So Louis, I heard you have been really excelling at school."_

"_Yeah I've been getting top marks, but that's not that interesting. Lucy, tell us about WADA."_

"_Oh! Well I've also received top marks, but I just found out today that I've been advanced to Level Five in music."_

"_What's Level Five?" Hugo asked._

"_Well-"_

"_So Molly," her dad interrupted, "have you started preparing for NEWT's?"_

"_No I have not." Molly said in her formal voice, which meant she was trying to hide how annoyed she was, " I don't take them for a year and Lucy was totally talking Captain Rude. So Lucy, what's a Level Five?"_

"_Well basically it's the highest you can be at the school-"_

"_If you can call it a school." Her dad sneered._

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Your sister and cousins are working hard at an established and world renowned institute of magic and you're singing and dancing your life away at an art school! This isn't what I imagined for you Lucy and I'm not going to pretend to be happy about this!" he yelled. No one at the table spoke, and Lucy didn't think they were breathing either._

"_I'm sorry I turned out to be such a disappointment." She said calmly as she excused herself from the table. So her father hated her, great. It was just too bad that she didn't care; because she was going to prove to him just how much she deserved to be there and that she belonged. She didn't care if he was disappointed in her, because she was ten times more disappointed in him. She would prove him wrong._

* * *

><p>"I don't think I can do this." Lucy whined for the millionth time tonight. It was her first time performing in a showcase at school, and she was performing a song that she Claire and Lorcan had practiced non stop, but she was still nervous.<p>

"Lucy, pull it together girl. You're amazing!" Claire boosted.

"I know I _can _do this. I just don't know if I should."

"If you let your wanker dad get into your head I might slap you."

"Maybe he's onto something? Maybe I should just withdraw and go to Hogwarts and get a "normal" education. I can't do this tonight."

"You are doing this," Lorcan said matter of factly, "Plus, our plan is already in action."

"Right, I forgot. Who's idea was this anyway?"

"Yours!" her friends responded together. They were right. In a heated moment following her dad's yelling, Lucy had decided she was going to prove her worth to her dad the only way she knew; by singing for him. It had turned out to be harder to put in place than she thought, but everything had come together. She had persuaded Lily to write her dad and ask him to send her some of the special parchment they use at the Ministry. She asked Warren, and kid in her year that was an amazing artist to write a fancy letter asking her dad to represent the Magical Law Department at a benefit for orphaned children. Her father probably wasn't that sentimental to orphans or anything, but she knew he was very snooty and he would come to anything fancy that other snooty people would be at. They also made sure to include that he was one of few people personally invited, that way he wouldn't be at work asking around about it. Also he'd feel all exclusive, and he'd _definitely_ show up. He was just that predictable.

"Well guys, I've decided I don't want to do this anymore. I'll go tell my father, I'm sure he can pull some strings and get Hogwarts to take me back late. I think the Hufflepuff yellow will really bring out the color in my eyes."

"Hey, I know you're Level Two in drama now, but you can cut the acting." Claire said seriously. "We're here for you and you can do this. Trust me-"

"Better yet, trust yourself." Lorcan cut in. "You're doing things here that people have never done before; don't toss it all away to please anyone other than yourself."

"_Up next, a song by three amazing up and coming first years!" the announcer boomed. "All three are Level Five performers, making them some of the youngest Level Five's we've seen at WADA. Give it up for Lucy Weasley, Lorcan Scamander, and Claire Lune!"_

"It's now or never Weasley, are we doing this?" Lorcan asked.

"Alright, let's do it." She said more to herself than to her friends. The three of them walked out onto the stage and the cheers they received were crazy. There was no question that they had quickly made a name for themselves at the school. The three of them along with Lucy's arch enemy, Addison Bradley, were all advanced to Level Five. Addison in Theater, and the rest in Music. It was the first time that four first years had all been advanced so highly after only one semester.

Lucy came to the center of the stage and scanned the crowd quickly. Surely enough, there was a man with orange hair, wearing extremely overpriced dress robes standing in the corner looking very uncomfortable. Now she was even more nervous than before. She heard Lorcan count her in, but when the music started no words came out of her mouth. She was frozen. She hadn't actually expected her dad to show up, or stay after he found out what it actually was. She had missed Lorcan and Claire's lead in twice, and when they stopped playing her dad began laughing and made to leave. She couldn't let him just walk away like that, thinking that he was right and she was wrong. She had to make him hear her just once, so she sang. It wasn't what the three of them had rehearsed, but it said everything she needed to say to her dad:

_Listen,  
>To the song here in my heart<br>A melody I start but can't complete  
>Listen, to the sound from deep within<br>It's only beginning  
>To find release<em>

_Oh,_  
><em>The time has come<em>  
><em>For my dreams to be heard<em>  
><em>They will not be pushed aside and turned<em>  
><em>Into your own<em>  
><em>All cause you won't<em>  
><em>Listen<em>

_Listen,_  
><em>I am alone at a crossroads<em>  
><em>I'm not at home, in my own home<em>  
><em>And I've tried and tried<em>  
><em>To say what's on my mind<em>  
><em>You should have known<em>

_Now I'm done believing you_  
><em>You don't know what I'm feeling<em>  
><em>I'm more than what you made of me<em>  
><em>I followed the voice you gave to me<em>  
><em>But now I gotta find my own..<em>

_You should have listened_  
><em>There is someone here inside<em>  
><em>Someone I'd thought had died<em>  
><em>So long ago<em>

_I don't know where I belong_  
><em>But I'll be moving on<em>  
><em>If you don't...<em>  
><em>If you won't<em>

_LISTEN_

When Lucy finished singing, the crowd had gone silent before bursting into applause. Even Lorcan was clapping like he had never heard her sing before in his life. Even though she had done an amazing job, she noticed that her dad had left the theater. She ran off the stage and luckily caught up with him before he had made it out of the door.

"Dad!" she screamed. "Dad, wait!" He was at the apparition point now and she could tell he was about to turn on the spot, but her yelling shocked him and he dropped his wand on the floor. He reached down to pick it up, but she had hers in her hand first. "Expelliarmus!" His wand went flying and she caught it was no way he could discredit her education now.

"Lucy Nicole, why do you know such an advanced spell?"

"I learned it here! At school!"

"Yes, you've learned to disrespect your father with your foolish antics and brash behavior. Give me my wand back young lady or so help me-" he didn't get to finish his sentence because she had already levitated his wand back to him before he could get his threat out.

"Do you see that dad? I've learned real, valuable magic here. Just as much, if not more, than I would have at Hogwarts. I'm not ruining my life, I'm creating more opportunities for myself. If I keep my grades up, when I graduate I can get almost any job I want or maybe even be on Broadway! I'll have three times as much of a chance to be successful than someone at a traditional school. And you know what? I could care less if you're proud of me, because I'm proud of me." She didn't know what she thought was going to happen tonight, but this was not it.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"_What?"_

"I have a meeting-"

"No you don't, dad. There is no meeting, there was no hold up at the owlery, and your letters haven't been misplaced. Go ahead and walk out if this is too much for you to handle; just know that I won't let you back in easily."

She didn't think she could stand the sight of her dad walking out of her life so she turned around before he could. She didn't know if she'd ever be close to her dad again, but she wasn't going to let him hold her back anymore. Lucy was going to be successful and brilliant and anything else that she wanted to be, because she decided her path; not anyone else. She would love to have her father's support, but not having it would make it even better when she graduated and was able to say 'I told you so.' She knew her dad would come around eventually, because her mother was not one to cross, she just hoped that when he did decide to come around, that she'd still want him there. If Lucy had learned anything from her time at WADA, it was that you have to believe in yourself. And there was no way that anyone could or would believe in Lucy more than she did. She was going to go far, just watch.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **_**Late, but it's up today! Four chapters in four days! Or five in five? Idk. Happy Monday and Happy Olympics, whatever country you're from! If being lazy was in the Olympics I'd be a gold medalist so go me! (rambling). Review if you'd like, don't if you'd rather not :-) Oh! And the songs by Beyonce, who I LOVEEE!**

**-Jazz**


	17. Crush

"I hung up the phone tonight  
>Something happened for the first time<br>Deep inside it was a rush, what a rush  
>'Cause the possibility<br>That you would ever feel the same way  
>About me, just too much, just too much"<p>

-David Archuleta

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_There were quite a few ways Al had imagined spending the last weeks of his summer, but this was most definitely not one of them. He had a really good book waiting for him in his room, but he had been interrupted by his mom saying he had a "visitor." Little did he know it was going to be the girl that he had had a crush on for the vast majority of his life. That had certainly made him put his book down. They didn't see each other often-which was strange, considering their brother's were best friends- but when he did see her, she always made him like her even more. Except for right now._

"_Reid!" Al called to the girl who was trekking through the woods behind his house as if she'd done it a million times before. "Reid; where are we going?"_

"_Somewhere interesting Al; stop complaining, we aren't that far away." Al grumbled and rolled his eyes but continued on anyway. He didn't want to be out here, but he didn't want to leave her out here alone either because he didn't know if it was safe. Nor did he want to get in trouble by his mum or her dad, so he figured he'd stick it out. Reid Longbottom was the daughter of Neville and Hannah Longbottom, and was the same age as Rose and Al. They didn't hang out often, but when they did it always went something like this. First and foremost she usually made an appearance on the days when he had something great planned out, like a prototype for a wheeze to present to his uncles or even a game of Quidditch with his brothers. He'd have lots of books and stuff that she could read while he was doing whatever he wanted to do, and she would usually start to complain that she was bored after about ten minutes. They would usually sit in awkward silence until she'd had enough, and came up with a way to drive him crazy. Some activities included making 'the biggest ice cream sundae ever'; handstand competitions; and having movie marathons. He didn't mind those things so much, but he wasn't the outdoors type._

"_Reid, seriously! Where are you taking me?"_

"_On an adventure, grumpy. You are always stuffed up in your room with your books and homework and potions thingies-"_

"_They aren't thingies, they're Deluxe Edition Potion Master Kits that are very entertaining."_

"_Yeah, for an old man! I'm getting bored and tired just thinking about them and I decided you need some fun and sun."_

"_And since when do _you_ decide what I do and do not need?"_

"_Since I'm a guest at your house. It's only polite to give me preference of what I want to do." Little did she know, he'd always give her preference. Not only because he liked her, but he had inherited his father's weakness for bright, fiery women. "If we were at my house it would be the opposite and you could choose what we spent the day doing."_

"_Well that's pretty unfair considering you only come over here on days when your parents are both away. I'm never at your house."_

"_You mean, all this time you haven't been inviting me over? Aww, and here I thought I was coming over here because you wanted to spend time with me." Al froze, thinking he had really hurt her feelings, but let out a breath when he saw that she was just joking."Suck it up Albus, we're already here anyway." Reid was probably one of the nicest girls he'd ever met, but she could be down right bossy when she wanted something her way. She and Rose got along great most of the time, but in those moments they were like clones. Al could have screamed when he realized what 'here' was; it was just a bunch of grass with a few rocks and fallen tree trunks. Awesome._

"_This is it?"_

"_Yes! It's nature, what more do you need?" She had to be kidding, Al thought. He could literally list 100,000 things that he needed more than nature. "Cop a squat Potter, daylight's wasting." Al looked around and decided to take a seat on the moss covered tree trunk instead of the wet, dewy, bug-infested grass next to Reid. He tried to wipe away some of the filth but it wasn't budging. "No no no, sit down here with me."_

_"I'd rather not." he said as he flicked a caterpillar onto the ground. _"_This place is gross."_

_"This place is beautiful, and it's right in your frigging backyard. I'm jealous."_

_"You're truly the only girl I know that is this excited by nature."_

_"What can I say, I'm one of a kind. For you to be so into science, you would think you liked nature more."_

_"Yeah that's not the case; I prefer air conditioning to humidity and I'm not fond of being outnumbered by bugs or sitting with them."_

"_You're being so dramatic Al; really." She said as she lay down in the dirt. "So what's been going on?"_

"_How long has it been since I've seen you, a year and a half? I guess you should know that my family forgot about me and left me at the beach on the way back from summer vacation." Reid's eyes went wide before she burst into laughter. She was literally kicking her legs on the ground and there might have been a few tears falling from her eyes. "I'm so glad you find this comical Reid. Really, you're a great friend."_

_"You have to tell me how this happened. Did you guys take a port key?"_

_"Yes, and it was about to depart when I remembered a book I had left under my bed-" this made her laugh even harder and he was starting to think she was mad. "Go ahead and laugh you nutter, my self-esteem is really on the climb. Thanks."_

"_Oh come on, that's funny Al; admit it! You're there, then you leave to get a book? That's so you, I can't belive you didn't tell me about this sooner." She continued to laugh and he wanted to be mad at her, but he found himself laughing at it too. She had that effect on him most of the time, where he stopped being so broody and was able to have fun. "See? Sometimes it makes all the bad things better if you can just learn to laugh at yourself."_

_"You should teach me, you're a pro when it comes to laughing at me."_

_"It could be laughing _with_ you if you'd just lightened up a bit."_

"_I'll definitely keep that in mind. What's been going on in the Longbottom household?"_

"_Same old same old. Zack is a maniac and my parents adore him anyway. Me? I can't breathe without getting in trouble these days."_

"_That's probably because you're never just breathing; you're always up to something and if not, you're planning something in that crazy head of yours." She narrowed her eyes at him and made the cute little face she did when she was about to get defensive._

"_It's called having an imagination; I can't help it if mine is just a little more active than others."_

"_More than a little." He joked, as he looked around at their little spot. "You know, these woods aren't that bad. It's actually kind of peaceful out here."_

"_I know, it's amazing. I can't believe you have all of this back here and never come out and enjoy it. What's wrong with you?"_

"_I've never been out here before and I didn't want to risk it. Nor have I ever had the desire to come into the woods for fun."_

"_Well, it's a good thing you tried it out. See what happens when you try new things instead of being cooped up in your nerd cave all day? "_

"_Nerd cave? I prefer Potion's lab." He joked. She put her head in her hands and shook it dramatically._

"_Oh gosh, you're such a nerd Al." she stood from her spot on the ground and hugged him tightly. "You're still my friend, though. Nerd cave and all." Al didn't know why he did it, or why she let him do it, but Al kissed Reid Longbottom right there in the woods behind his house. She didn't say anything, and neither did he; they just stared at each other awkwardly._

_"Well, I guess we should get back to the house."_

_"Yeah, sounds good."_

* * *

><p>"What did you get Rose?" Al asked.<p>

"Why do I always have to go first? What did you get Scorpius?"

"I think I should go last, I mean, I don't want to hurt you guys' feelings."

"Sure, yeah. Let's just say it at the same time alright?" Al suggested, "One…Two…Three-"

"Outstanding!" they all screamed, causing each other to laugh uncontrollably. The three of them had one of the most competitive academic friendships on the planet, and that's what made it so unique. They were the top of their class, but they could have fun with it since they were best friends. They challenged each other and helped each other, so they currently held identical averages for their year. They really intended on keeping it that way and being the first group of friends to be Valedictorians together.

"Aw, this is great!" Rose squealed.

"Bloody freaky is what it is; we didn't even work together on this one." Al noticed that someone had been extremely quiet throughout this exchange of grades. "Reid, how'd you do?"

"Ha! Like I'm going to tell after your little _O_ celebration. No way."

"Oh come on, just say it. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Yeah, well it's not that bad, and that's all you need to know. Plus, I don't believe in giving students grades because everyone learns differently and it's unfair to measure a person's intelligence by another person's random standards."

"I love getting grades," Rose said, "It makes me feel accomplished."

"Well it makes me feel judged, and icky."

"Icky?" Al asked, joking at the girls choice in words, "Who still says icky?"

"I do, and I'm officially bored with this conversation. I'll catch you nerds later; my brother wants to see me to talk about Merlin knows what."

"See you later, Reid."

"Bye Albus." Al almost fell out of the chair from watching the girl walk out of the Great Hall, making Scorpius and Rose laugh.

"_Bye Albus," _Scorpius mocked, "You two sicken me with this little crush you have going on."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Mate, you've got it bad for Reid Longbottom. Admit it."

"She's just a friend guys."

"Oh yeah right." Rose said, "We're her friends too and we didn't get a special goodbye. Aside from calling us nerds, she didn't say anything to us at all actually, because she was too busy batting her eyelashes at you."

"You guys don't know what you're talking about. She doesn't like me."

"But you like her and we all know it."

"So? What does that matter if she doesn't like me back?" he asked.

"Well for starters you don't even know whether or not she likes you and two, there is no two, because a blind person could see that that girl likes you."

"She just thinks I'm a boring, goofy, nerd; trust me, she's said it to my face on multiple occasions."

"Ask her to Hogsmeade."

"What?" Al asked, not sure he had heard Scorpius correctly. "Come again?"

"Ask Reid Longbottom to accompany you to Hogsmeade next weekend. It's simple, really."

"Oh yeah? And if it's so simple, how many girls have you asked to accompany you to Hogsmeade?"

"So far, none. Hey Rose, would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah." Al noticed her blush, but Scorpius was too busy gloating to notice. Poor Rose; Al hoped she realized he was probably just trying to prove a point, not asking her out genuinely. She swore she didn't like him, but Al thought differently.

"Great! Now I've asked one girl to go to Hogsmeade and I'm still alive. It's simple."

"Sure, but-"

"Ask her to Hogsmeade; just see what she says. I mean, you already kissed her, this should be easy compared to that."

"I kissed her in a temporary lapse of judgment and I almost had a heart attack afterwards."

"But you did it." Scorpius said with a shrug.

"Go. Find. Reid." Rose said slowly.

"Ugh, fine." Al got up, not wanting to hear anything else from his two best friends. Who had told them he liked Reid anyway? So what if she was pretty, and smart, and funny, and spontaneous, and all-around amazing? The thing about Reid Longbottom was that she didn't try to be any of those things; it just happened naturally. Or at least that's how Al felt about it. She was a really laid-back girl and she was extremely cool; which was why there was no way she liked Al. He had gained a little popularity since his first year, but deep down he was still the same guy that would rather go to class and do some homework than go to a party. When Al entered the Common Room he saw Reid sitting at a table opposite the Weasley section with her brother Zack. Al had no idea what had gone down between his and Reid's brothers but the two of them had decided to stay out of it for obvious reasons.

"Hey Reid, can I talk to you?"

"Why? What do you want Potter?"

"Shut up, Zack. He's not talking to you." She said as she hit her brother on her head and walked over to Al. "You wanted to talk?"

"Actually I thought we could walk and talk? Maybe we could go take a walk outside?"

"I'm sorry, I have to meet with my dad soon to discuss my 'attitude in the classroom.' That's why Zack is going all big brother on me; apparently I have a "smart mouth" but you'd think that was a good thing."

"No kidding. Welp, see you around." He said, hoping that this meant he wouldn't have to do this at all anymore. He was not prepared to ask her out right now with her brother sitting 12 feet away.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on. If you came all the way up here and offered to go outside, to the only place in the world you hate, I know this is important. What is it?"

"It's stupid."

"Al, you couldn't be stupid if you tried. Now stop being a weirdo and talk. You're scaring me."

"Uh, well Scorpius and Rose are going to Hogsmeade together."

"That's…fascinating?" she said unsurely,"Ok no, I don't get it. The three of you go to Hogsmeade together all of the time.

"Well, Scorpius and Rose also think I should ask you to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend." Great, he had gotten it out. Or maybe not, because Reid only raised an eyebrow in response.

"Scorpius and Rose think so? And you don't agree?"

"No! I mean yes. I mean, I wanted to ask you, but they thought I should as well. I don't even know why I brought them up because they don't like each other like I like you." Reid's eyes went wide and he immediately felt unsure of his words. "I didn't mean to say that." And he had _definitely_ not meant to say that. "Damn it."

"Al, stop talking." She said quickly, snapping her fingers like his mom did when nobody was listening to her.

"Ok."

"Now breathe. Are you breathing?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now forget everything you just said, concentrate, and ask me what you want to ask me. Ready?"

"Yeah." He said, feeling ten times more calm than when he had walked up to her."I'm ready."

"Ok, good. Go." He took one more deep breath for good measure.

"Reid, would you like to accompany me to Hogsmead this weekend?"

"Yes."

"Really?" he asked, not believing what she'd just said to him.

"Yes."

"Great! Well that was easy." He said, feeling a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders.

"Not _that _easy. I mean, you practically screwed it the first time around."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"You deserve it! I've only been waiting for you to ask me out for about a year and a half. Maybe longer, but I figured after you _kissed me_ you would have figured out that I liked you."

"You like me? Like, Rox and Lex like me?"

"No, I don't. I Reid and Al like you."

"_Really?"_

"Oh for the love, Al." she said as she shook her head with a smile. She kissed him on the cheek and he blushed because of how badly he had begun blushing. "I've got to meet my dad. See you later."

"See you."

James was _not _going to believe this!

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Mehhh, not my best work. Reid has been mentioned briefly by both James and Scorpius in previous chapters, if you may have forgotten. This is the first time I've writen much about her because I haven't written much about Albus. Al is super hard for me to write, idk why :-( But alas, I promised a chapter a day and here is your chapter for today/night lol Ahhh, i's almost not today any more..._**

**_-Jazz_**


	18. That Should Be Me

"That should be me holding your hand  
>That should be me making you laugh<br>That should be me, this is so sad  
>That should be me, that should be me<p>

That should be me feeling your kiss  
>That should be me buying you gifts<br>This is so wrong, I can't go on till you believe  
>That should be me, that should be me"<p>

-J. Biebs

* * *

><p><strong>*<strong>New POV, New POV! Get excited!*

_**Flashback (waaay back)**_

_Carter didn't like to brag about things, but his life was pretty amazing. He had amazing friends, he wasn't failing school, and was having a great time at Hogwarts. When he first got on the train, he was positive that he would be spending the next seven year friendless and alone, but then he had stumbled upon Dominique sitting in a compartment by herself and it was all uphill from there. They did pretty much everything together and it made Carter feel ridiculous for ever thinking he wouldn't have liked it at Hogwarts. There was something simple and exciting about being friends with Dominique that he really appreciated. She wasn't like most girls and they had a very good time together whether it was in class or in the middle of a snowball fight._

"_Carter, what are you doing?" Dom asked, "We need more ammo!"_

"_I'm going as fast as I can! This snow is freezing, and my snow balls are looking a little more like snow rectangles!"_

_"Oh no, you have irregularly shaped balls? How tragic."_

_"You're funny, D. Just hilarious."_

"_Seriously though, are you doing them all by hand?" he nodded, not realizing there's another way to make snowballs. "You're hopless; no wonder it's taking you all day. Geminio!" she said as she pointed her wand at one of his snowballs, making another appear. Her way was going to get the snowballs made ten times faster than him._

"_I hadn't even thought of that, sorry." He admitted._

"_It's ok, but we really have to hurry. James and Zack are probably busting these things out like maniacs." The two of them worked together and created about 50 snowballs while Fred and Leah finished packing snow around them to build a fortress they could hide behind when the fight got started. "I think we're good, don't you?"_

"_Yeah we can come back and make more if we need to. Fred how are you doing over there?"_

"_We're done! I think it's pretty good too."_

"_Are you slow pokes ready?" they heard James yell._

"_Yeah!" Dom yelled back, " Calm your pants! Ok, you three; Fred, Leah, Carter, you are three of the strongest and bravest kids I know. We may not have their James' psychosis, Zack's strength, or Linden's brains, but we've got heart. And they've got 95 lbs. of dead weight on their team named Hollis, so we can do this." She joked. "They said we couldn't do this, that we don't have a chance, but I believe in you, team. I believe. No matter what happens when we get out there, I just want you guys to know that if I don't make it, I'm still the coolest person on this planet." By the end of her speech the three of them were cracking up. Dom had a way of lighting up a room just by being her crazy, hilarious, self. She's was truly a riot and everyone loved her._

"_Alright Captain, great speech." Fred said rolling his eyes, "James, you ready?"_

"_READY! 3…2..1. GO!" Without hesitating Carter and his teammates grabbed snowballs and ran from behind their snow fort. They had decided that they Carter would target Zack since he had a good arm and would be able to hit him, and everyone else would pretty much just run around like idiots. Carter didn't make it three steps before a snowball came flying at him. He ducked, and missed the snowball easily._

"_Carter, on your left!" Fred screamed. He turned quickly and lobbed a snowball, hitting Zack easily. "Nice!" The game went on for about twenty minutes and by this time there were no teams, or strategies, or nicely duplicated snowballs, they were all just having a good time together. James had gone crazy and was blasting everyone with snowballs, so in turn, they had all sent the rest of their snowballs flying at him until he was laid out on the ground._

"_Ok, ok, I surrender!" he screamed, "I give!" _

_The rest of them laughed at his obvious defenselessness and piled on top of them laughing. These were good times, and he hoped they would never end. Carter just knew that the eight of them would be the best of friends forever._

* * *

><p>"Ugh, Carter you're so not into this." Hollis said as she pulled away from their kiss. He had been so distracted that he had pretty much forgotten they were kissing until they weren't anymore.<p>

"I am, I swear. I was just thinking about something."

"There's no reason for you to be thinking when you're making out with me... unless you're thinking of me." She said as she re-applied her lip gloss and fixed her hair. Sometimes he didn't understand her obsession with the sticky gunk. She had tons of colors, flavors and finishes, but they were all just gunk to him. "Now, what is it that has you in such deep thought?"

"I was just thinking about that snowball fight we had in first year, before everything got so crazy."

"Yuck! Don't ever think about 'first year' me again. I was atrocious and bony and clueless!"

"You look the same." He said, making her glare at him, "Pretty, I mean. You were pretty then and you're pretty now."

"Definitely. But why are you thinking about that particular day?"

"I've been thinking about the past a lot lately and I guess that day was the last time that we all truly had fun together."

"Fun? That day was torture." She said, shuddering from the memory.

"It didn't seem like it that day. Why'd you go if it was such a torturous event?"

"Because you were there, of course. Trust me, there's no other way to get me running, in the snow, and interacting with Dominique Weasley." Carter rolled his eyes. He preferred to not think about Dom these days, but Hollis had an affinity for bringing her up when they were together, which was all of the time. She was constantly ragging on her, or asking him if he thought she was prettier than her, and it drove Carter absolutely crazy. It was like him being with her wasn't enough confirmation that he liked her and not Dominique. Maybe Hollis hadn't realized it, but he and Dom weren't on good terms and it made him uncomfortable to talk about her. They may not be friends, but it was still hard for him to hear negative things about her. Hollis, however, seemed to believe that the more she brought Dominique up, the more he'd chime in and and get on board the hate train. He also believed that Hollis was unaware of the fact that she was the reason he and Dom no longer got along. It had been his fault too, but Hollis was a very large factor. Just as he was thinking this James walked into the room and started rummaging through his trunk.

"Still mad at me Hollis?" James asked.

"Infuriated."

"Whatever." He said, grabbing his helmet and closing the trunk. "I've got to get to practice. Tell your girlfriend to get over herself, Thomas."

"Why do you do that?" she asked angrily.

"Do what?"

"You just let people talk to me any kind of way and don't stand up for me like a boyfriend should."

"I didn't know you needed defending. You talk to most people any way you want and I figured it was one of those 'Do unto others' situations."

"Well it's not! Especially when one of your friends tells me to get over myself." He let out a deep breath, never knowing exactly what to say to her. She was one of the most complicated humans on the planet and he felt like he could do nothing right by her. They had more good days than bad, but the bad ones really sucked.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to do better about that."

"Of course you will."

"Why are you guys mad at each other anyway? If you don't mind me asking."

"He's the leader of Dominique's personality exorcist and he wants me, _me, _to apologize to her and _make friends._" Carter raised both eyebrows in surprise. That was the most substantial thing he thought she ever said.

"What's so wrong with that?"

"Are you kidding me? I hate her!" Hollis screamed, not caring about the headache she had been giving him all day, "I have absolutely nothing to apologize for and I never want to be friends with her. I can't even believe James had the audacity to ask me that. Can you believe him?"

"Well, yes. Clearly it's possible seeing as you two were friends once, though."

"Friends? When?"

"First year."

"Yeah, for like a day and I regret every second of it." She let out a breath of air as if she was extremely exhausted. "That won't be happening again."

"I really don't see why not."

"Because she's turned into a complete-"

"Don't say bitch." He warned.

"I was going to say maniac, but so what if I called her a bitch? Does that bother you Carter?"

"No, it's just not necessary. Obviously she's going through something bigger than your little feud, I don't know why you can't see that."

"You believe her pathetic little act? You know, she's only doing this to get your attention. I think her little crush is pathetic, really."

"Crush? What are you talking about?"

"You sad, clueless, handsome young guy. You had to have known this; she's always liked you."

"What?" he asked, maybe a little too excitedly, "No she hasn't."

"Oh please, she's been publicly drooling all over you for four years. When she realized that I'm better than her in every way and backed off, I guess the sadness of being unwanted drove her mad." Carter ignored the jab and thought hard about what she had said. There was no way that Dominique had liked him as anything more than a friend. If so, she had a misguided way of showing it. "Now, can we please get back to what we were doing before your thoughts interrupted us?"

"Maybe later, I have to go find someone-"

"It better not be her Carter, I swear. If I find out you went to see-"

"It's not her, Holls. I swear. She wouldn't talk to me even if I wanted anyway." Carter kissed her on the cheek and headed for the Quidditch Pitch. Fred wasn't on the team but he was always there watching the practices before games so he could commentate better. He was up in the stands as always and even though Carter was pissed, he knocked so as to not startle his friend.

"Carter, what's up?"

"I'm going to ask you a question right now and I'm asking, as a friend, for you to tell me the truth."

"Uh, I'll do my best?"

"Did you, or did you not know Dom liked me?"

"What-"

"Did you know Fred? First year, when I told you how I felt about her and you told me to keep my mouth shut about it, did you know that Dominique felt the same?" Fred shoulders dropped in shame and Carter had his answer He couldn't believe it. "Do you realize what this means? Why would you do that to me? To her?"

"I didn't want her to get hurt and I had no way of knowing if you really liked her or just wanted to mess with her."

"Are you kidding? Why would you think I was messing with her? I _told _you I liked her!"

"You were clinging to Hollis, you were leaving Dom behind, you never stood up for her, always made her the one to blame when it came to Hollis. How did you expect me to react when you asked me if she liked you? You wanted me to jump for joy and set you guys up on a date so you could dump her and choose Hollis instead? She deserves better."

"You could have at least told me. Everything could have been different. Everything!" Carter left the stands and made his way back to the castle. He could fix things with Dominique! Everything had all been a huge misunderstanding and they could be okay again. He had practically run to the entrance of the Common Room but Dom was walking out as he was walking in, looking more dressy than normal. "You look nice."

"Who, me?" she asked, looking around the halls. "Of course me, who else?"

"You realy do look amazing, though. Hot date?" he asked uncomfortably. He wanted to know if she was seeing someone, but at the same time, he didn't want to know that she had gotten this dressed up for someone else.

"Yes, actually. Zack should be right behind me. We're celebrating our anniversary. Well, if you don't count all the times we broke up and-"

"Hey, I'm ready." Zack said, as he finally walked out of the Common Room. "What's up Thomas?"

"Hey, man. How's it been?" he asked.

"Can't complain," he said as he kissed Dom on the cheek and made her giggle. Carter had the urge to hit something, but realized he didn't have a valid reason to be pissed. This was his fault.

"Alright, enough chitter chatter." Dom said as she grabbed Zack's hand. "We've got to go!"

She walked off and in no time the clicking of her heels could no longer be heard. She was going off to celebrate an "anniversary" with a boyfriend. A guy that was not good for her and didn't deserve her. If he hadn't have been such an idiot that could have been him. That should have been him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Let's say it together...awwwwww! Yes, I just wanted you guys to get in this kids head for a second. What did you think? Is it time to get Carter and Dom out of this funk? Let me know! Also, no chap. tomorrow :-( I'm going to the beaaaach! But don't worry, every day updating will continue of Friday!**_

_**-Jazz**_


	19. Someone To Watch Over Me

"There's a somebody I'm longing to see  
>I know that he always will be<br>Someone to watch over me  
>I'm a little lamb who's lost in the woods<br>I know I should always be good  
>To one who'll watch over me"<p>

-Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse, Lady GaGa- so many great people!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_James had not let Lily out of his sight since she had stepped off of the platform and onto the train. Lily loved her brother dearly, but he had been a complete nightmare for almost an entire school year. She remembered the days when she was at home alone crying because her brothers had gone off to Hogwarts without her, but in this moment she had no clue why that had upset her back then. She should have been elated that she had two years sans overprotective brothers. If only she knew then what she knew now, she would have appreciated their absence so much more._

"_Lily, stop daydreaming! You need to make sure you eat enough so you have strength to get through all of your classes."_

"_Ok-"_

"_And don't eat too much either, you don't want to fall asleep while you should be learning."_

_"Is that why you fall asleep during all of your classes? Maybe you should be eating then instead of bothering me."_

"_Don't you worry about me, just stay focused._ _If you need me I'll be three classrooms down, you can just ask to be excused."_

"_I know-"_

"_Are you just saying ok to get me to leave or are you really getting what I'm saying?"_

"_James, I get it! You give me the same speech every single morning. Can you please leave now? Breakfast will be over any minute."_

"_Don't get snippy; finish up, then get to class. I don't want you to be late." He mussed her hair before walking away and sitting at the table with his friends. She turned back to Hugo and Louis, who usually stayed silent during James' morning debriefings._

"_Do you think it's possible for him to get any more ridiculous?" Hugo asked._

"_Ugh, I'm honestly afraid to find out. He's been telling me for weeks that I can come find him if I need him. Does he honestly think I'll need him so badly during class that I'll walk out and come crying to him like some kind of baby?"_

"_Clearly he expects you to." Louis said with a laugh, before rolling his eyes. _

_"Why doesn't Dom do this to you? It's not fair."_

_"For that to happen, my sister would have to know and care that I even go to this school, which I'm still not convinced she does. And of course there's the fact that my sister isn't overprotective and intolerable like James Potter."_

_"Heads up!" Hugo warned, "brother number 2 at 3 o' clock."_

"_Lily!" her brother yelled, waving a piece of parchment in the air. "What is this?"_

"_Oh, I don't know, a piece of paper? Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?"_

"_No, it's one of your assignments. You didn't even tell me this was assigned, I had to find out from some kid in the library."_

"_What, you're shaking down my classmates now? That's really mature."_

"_This is serious Lil! I thought we'd agreed that you would come check with me, Rose or Scorpius before you turned in your work? You got marks off for easy things, and it brought you down to an E."_

"_An E? Oh no! I'll never get a good job because I got a few points less than O. What ever will I do?"_

"_We've talked about this. You're way too young to be getting anything less than an O on little assignments like this. But don't worry, Flitwick is going to let you revise it."_

"_Flitwick? Is that the paper I just turned in yesterday? How did you even get that Albus?!" Her brothers were beyond ridiculous. They had really outdone themselves._

"_I happen to have a very good relationship with Professor Flitwick."_

"_But he told us they wouldn't be graded for a week and that there would be no make-up for it. So how did you get that paper in your greedy little hands today?"_

"_You don't need to know-"_

"_How?"_

"_Well, I might have persuaded him to speed up his grading process for the daughter of Harry-"_

"_Albus! You pulled the dad card for a stupid essay that isn't even yours?" she asked as she grabbed the paper from him and headed for the door. "That's it! Don't think your father won't hear about this!"_

_Lily couldn't believe how insane her brothers were. They literally knew no bounds, had no shame, and were going to be the death of her here at Hogwarts. James practically walked her to every class, Albus might as well be another teacher, and the both of them were like two pushy, critical, unwanted body guards. As far as girls in their family went, Lily was the last one that needed any watching; she could take care of herself. She wouldn't be able to get to her dad right away, so she went to her next best option. She knocked on the door of Teddy's office, and hoped he'd hurry up, because if this made her late for class she'd really never hear the end of it._

"_Lil, what's up?" _

"_I need to talk to you about your brothers."_

_"Ok, but shouldn't you be on your way to class?" he asked, looking at the clock on his wall. "You'll be late."_

_"You don't have to worry about that; I'm sure Al or James could just drop dad's name and get me a free pass."_

_"You're going to have to start from the beginning._ _What have they done now?"_

"_Are you kidding me? What haven't they done? James is like a tiny little bug that won't stop flying around my food and is grossing out all the people around me. Both of them are way too concerned about what's going on in my life, and Albus has taken it upon himself to bribe Professor Flitwick into grading my work early and allowing me to redo it. They have lost their minds Teddy, I want them punished. And I don't mean 3 weeks of mucking around with you, I mean real punishment!"_

"_Hold on Lil, I don't think your brothers are trying to intentionally upset you-"_

"_Well they certainly aren't trying to help me! Do you know what people are saying about me? They're saying, 'aww, look at little Lily Potter, James and Al's little sister; 'you're so lucky to have two brothers to defend you'; and my personal favorite, 'what would little Lily do without them?'"_

"_Aww, Lil-" She was so fed up with the whole 'little Lily Potter' thing. _

"_No, Teddy, not 'aww.' If James and Al don't stop, I'll never be able to live this down. You might know how hard it is to live under mom and dad's shadow, but I'm being eclipsed by the shadow of my parents and the three of you. If they don't back off people will think that I'm weak and that I have everything handed to me and you know that's not true."_

"_I really get what you are saying Lily. Trust me on that, but I see where James and Al are coming from. You may be 12, but we'll always see you as the little girl that we used to spoil, and play peek-a-boo with, and that used to cry when we weren't around. We will always want to protect you and no matter how old you get you'll always be my sweet Willy Nilly Lily," Teddy said._

"_Teddy!" she whined._

"_Ok ok, I'll talk to them."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You're welcome, but they love you and will look out for you no metter what. I know this because I feel the same way, and even when you're gray haired with children of your own, we are going to see you as our little sister."_

"_I'm never going to be gray haired." She joked, even though she didn't feel much better about the situation._

"_Of course. I'll talk to tweedle dumb and tweedle dee, you get to class." She gave him a much deserved hug because at least he understood what she was going through. It was good to know that she could count on one of her brothers to be on her side._

"_Thanks!" Great. Now that that was taken care of, maybe things would get a little more normal around here._

* * *

><p>"Hello Miss Potter," a familiar voice called. She turned around to see one of her closest friends coming near the spot she had been studying in.<p>

"Hello Mr. Scamander. Are you coming to sit with me?"

"If that's ok with you." He said, even though he sat anyway. The two of them had known each other forever, of course he could sit with her. "So, how's my favorite Potter doing on this lovely Saturday?"

"Lovely Saturday? Have you been smelling all of your potions in class again? I think it's going to your head."

"Definitely not. I learned my lesson the hard way."

"Well then, what's up with you? Surely you didn't come over here just to talk to me."

"What if I did? Can't a guy just want some one on one time with a good friend?" he asked. She knew there had to be a reason he was sitting with her. The two of them were friebds on a group level, they never hung out alone.

"I know you have an agenda Scamander, you're always up to something. Just fess up, what do you want?"

"Fine, I did come over here for a reason. I'm just wondering...how's Lucy been?"

"Lucy?" She hadn't been expecting him to want _that._

_"_Yes, Lucy. She's a bit taller than you, reddish-brown hair, doesn't go here-"

"I know who she is, I want to know what you want with her."

"I want to know how she is, obviously. I haven't seen her in ages." It was still weird, and she felt like he was up to something, but she'd play along.

"She's been better, I guess. Her dad has been acting like a complete idiot since she's not at Hogwarts, but she'll get through it. I'm glad Lorcan is there to help her out, otherwise Louis might have picked up some ballet slippers and transferred to WADA by now." The two of them laughed, and Lily assumed he was imagining Louis doing ballet like she was.

"The two of them are that close?"

"Are you joking? They're more like twins than cousins, and you know how close twins are." She said before realizing the situation with Ly and his twin. That was really stupid of her."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"No, it's ok. Me and my brother are long past our hate for each other. It's just like a comfortable awkwardness when and if we see each other, which is extremely rare these days."

When the Scamander twins' parents had gotten divorced it had driven the two apart, but their relationship had been strained from the beginning. They were very different, but in some ways they were alike, and those were the ways that caused them problems. They were both stubborn, they were both prideful and they both liked things to be done a certain way. While Lorcan was able to give way to Lysander's ideas sometimes, Lysander rarely let up on having his way, no matter who it hurt in the process. Lily spent multiple days as a little girl mediating their fights, and some of them had even gotten physical. The breaking point for them though was probably when their parents split. It was evident, according to their Aunt Hermione, that the twins' differences had put a lot of stress on the bond of their parents. Both Lysander and Lorcan had reacted negatively, and that had probably made things even worse. When Lorcan went with his dad to Argentina, Lysander didn't even bat an eye.

"Do you have any idea how he's been doing?" she asked timidly. "I know that might be a stupid question but I haven't talked to him in years."

"Not any more than you would. Actually you might know more."

"Do you miss him at all? Ever?" she asked, imagining how it would feel not speaking to James or Albus for more than even a few days.

"It's funny that I was the one that was a complete-"

"Shit for brains?" she finished.

"And people think you're so sweet." he joked.

"It's called honesty Ly, you should try it."

"Ok, well I'll be honest with you now then. I feel like an idiot for saying so after all this time, but i do miss him. I may not have the right to, but I miss him." He said sadly, "Now don't you ever repeat that."

"I won't, but maybe _you_ should. You should tell him."

"I can't." he said after a few minutes. "I really can't. Not right now at least. He doesn't even- he's got this great life now where he's in the spotlight and people are finally recognizing how great he is. I don't want to take that away and he surely doesn't seem to miss me."

"Aw, Ly." She said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Lysander was never, ever sentimental about anything. Hugging was a definite no no, but he seemed really out of sorts. Maybe she'd drop a line to Lucy and they could get the twins talking again. "I'm sure he feels the same, it just might take him longer to realize it. Everything's going to be ok though. You'll see."

"Scamander!" a male voice yelled, "You have 3 seconds to move away from her if you value your life." It might have taken Lysander a half of a second to snake out of Lily's hug and scoot at least 10 feet away from her.

"James!"

"Not now, Lily." He warned, "Just what did you think you were doing hugging my little sister with your grimy little hands?"

"She was hugging me! I swear!" Lysander responded, looking mortified.

"Likely story. Now scram before I really give you a reason to be afraid."

"James Sirius Potter, what is your problem? Are you crazy?"

"Me? He was all over you!"

"Actually that's impossible considering _I _was hugging_ him_! He doesn't even like hugs, nor does he like me that way. We're just friends."

"So you think! You have no clue what he's thinking in that screwed up head of his."

"It's Lysander freaking Scamander. The only things on his mind are Quidditch, what he just had for lunch, and what he could possibly have for dinner."

"Oh, and you know so much about the mind of a 12 year old boy. Right."

"I've been surrounded by them for 100% of my life. I think I've picked up a little knowledge on the inner-workings of their minds. Where's Teddy? He was supposed to talk to you and get you to leave me alone."

"No no, his exact words were 'back off' and I think I've done just that."

"But you haven't backed off at all! You and that glasses wearing, grade grubbing brother of yours are socially suffocating me! I need the both of you to take a breath and give me some space."

"I did that; all week. I wasn't even going to come out here until I saw Scamander walking to you. Plus, Teddy would change his mind if he saw what I just saw."

"You didn't see anything! It was a hug!"

"It was a gateway."

"A _what?"_ she asked. He was insane.

"Hugging opens the door for kissing, which opens the door for…many other things whose doors should stay closed until you're at least 35."

"It was Lysander. Freaking. Scamander! He felt bad and I hugged him. That's it."

"That better be it."

"It really is. I mean, I don't know if I can say it any other way. I don't like Lysander, he doesn't like me, and you don't have to worry about that for a while. Alhough, some day-"

"No, absolutely not."

"It's gonna happen." She sang. Part of her was just trying to get a rise out of him, but it was true. Some day someone was going to like her as more than a friend, and her brothers, cousins, father, and uncles were just going to have to suck it up and get over it. She made a mental note to make an actual note, reminding her to be happy when that day came.

"It won't if I can help it. Boys are no good and you're too good for all of them. End of story. Why would you want a boyfriend anyway?"

"I never said I did."

"Good. You saw what happened with Molly and Chase didn't you? How sad she is? I came really close to hexing his balls off because of that and she's arguably my least favorite cousin. Can you imagine in that sweet, sweet little red head of yours what I might do if anyone did that to my favorite, most precious little sister? I might end up in Azkaban Lily. Azkaban!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your wand in a knot. I'm not going to be doing anything with boys for a while, and even then, I am advising you not to hex their balls or any of their other privates off. Now, are you going to back off or do we have to call in the parentals?" The only thing James was the slightest bit afraid of was their parents. The glare of Ginny Potter was his Kryptonite.

"That's low." He said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Good, but low."

"It's necessary. Not only are you ruining my life and making me look like a spoiled, naive brat, but you're spending so much time worried about me that other aspects of your life are suffering. You've got to let me find out who I am, on my own, without you, because one day you will have graduated and you won't be able to protect me."

"I know." He said sadly. She sort of felt bad, but it seemed like she was finally getting through to him about this. "I could always become a teacher like Teddy and then-"

"James!"

"I know, I was just kidding. I will try to do better, it's just hard for me. I almost didn't get off the train first year because I was afraid to leave you home with Albus. I thought he was going to bore you to death."

"Well I managed, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. You're my little sister though you know? I taught you how to ride a broom, and tie your shoelaces, and break out of your crib, and get around the wards in the house so you could sneak us biscuits." Lily couldn't help but laugh at him, remembering all the things she'd "learned" and all the trouble they had gotten in.

"Those were such valuable lessons, James. You set a great example."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for. So, after that heart felt speech, you still ready to ditch me so soon? Just dump your big brother like an old piece of rubbish?"

"You gotta let go sometime, kid." she said as she hugged him, "Sooner rather than later would be preferred."

"I make no promises Lily, I am only human after all."

"Right." She said, rolling her eyes. "Are we done now? You've successfully scared away one of my oldest friends. I officially only have Louis and Hugo now."

"That's all you need, really." She hit him hard on the back of the head. "Again, just kidding. Don't worry, I'll make things right with Lysander Freaking Scamander. I'm telling him you gave him that name by the way."

"Do what you want as long as you promise to let me live my own life. Are you ready for terms and conditions?"

"Terms and conditions? Really?"

"Yes. From here on out, you do not wait for me to get ready in the morning so you can walk me to breakfast, you do not tell me where I can find you at all parts of the day, you do not walk me to class-"

"But-"

"You do not threaten my friends, you do not send Linden to check up on me every night-"

"Every other night-"

"Never."

"One night a week?"

"Never." He seemed to think it over for a bit, but then let out a sigh.

"Fine. Fine, but you have to promise me you'll still come to me if you ever need anything, or need to talk, or-"

"James. You are, and always will be, the first person I turn to when I need absolutely anything. That's a promise. Oh! And tell your little brother to stop bribing my teachers to grade my papers early so I can revise them."

"He did that?" James said, letting out a hearty laugh. She laughed too, and she could already tell that things might actually be different. "He is such a little weirdo."

"He's a huge weirdo. But I love him and you, even though you both drive me crazy."

"You too, kid. Now get out of here, I can't be seen with a firstie." She hit him hard again and he grimaced. She couldn't tell if her hits actually hurt anymore or if he was just humoring her. "Kidding! I was kidding. You used to be able to take a joke."

"Goodbye, James."

"Bye."

Lily walked toward the castle feeling light and happy, but kind of sad at the same time. She was happy, obviously, because she may have finally gotten James to give her a little breathing room. He didn't have to follow all of her terms specifically, but at least he was trying. On the other hand, she was kind of sad because she had just had her first conversation with her brother where he had listened to her and compromised with her instead of yelling and telling her what to do. It really showed how much he had matured and showed that he, her immature, boisterous, hot-headed older brother was growing up. They were all growing up and it was a little bit surreal, but it felt right.


	20. Try

"The world is catching up to you  
>But you're running away to chase a dream<br>It's time for us to make a move  
>Cause we are asking one another to change<br>And baby I'm not ready but  
>I'll try"<p>

-Asher Book

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_What's wrong?" Madison asked, when Chase broke their kiss distractedly._

"_I don't think we can do this anymore Madison." He admitted. He had been feeling guilty for a while, but hadn't had the heart to tell Madison. Even though he was with Molly, he had grown to care for Madison too. Not just because they had been having this affair, but because they understood each other._

"_Why not?" she asked, as if not meeting up in secret behind Molly and Brooks' backs would shatter her whole world. He knew it was stupid, but Chase liked the way that Madison clung to him. She was solid and consistent, where Molly was fluid and carefree. She appreciated him, and the time they spent together, where Molly seemed to never be able to make time for him._

"_You know why not Madison; this was just a fling. You have a boyfriend and I have a girlfriend and this has to stop." Madison was crying now, and it took all of Chase's strength to not roll his eyes. Molly and Chase could yell at each other until the sun came up and she never looked like she might even be close to crying; he wasn't used to dealing with such a sensitive girl like Madison, usually he was the one close to crying. "Please don't cry, it's just-"_

"_No, I get it. You love Molly. I've always known it, I just thought that maybe-"_

"_No, no, that's not it. I mean I do love her, but I care about you too."_

"_You do?" she asked, "You're not just saying that to get me to stop crying are you?"_

"_No. I could never hurt you Madison, that's why this has to stop. Because in the end you'll be the one hurt the most and I feel too strongly about you to let that happen." He said as he wiped away a tear from her cheek. He felt disgusting saying these things to her. Not because he didn't mean them, but because they didn't have as much meaning as they would if he was with her properly. At his words she really started crying harder, and he didn't know whether or not that was healthy._

"_Do you love me Chase?" she asked. He couldn't answer that. This was supposed to be him breaking things off with her, not confessing his love for her._

"_Madison-"_

"_No, don't feed me any bullshit or try to talk around my question. I'm not Molly, and I won't fall for it. Do you love me? Just answer yes or no. If the answer is no we're done; none of this ever happened. If the answer is yes…"_

"_What? What if the answer is yes? It won't change anything!"_

"_It will for me. Just please answer." Chase took a deep breath, wondering whether or not he should tell the truth. He could do the right thing and say no; go down the path his life should. He would graduate, play Pro Quidditch, propose to Molly, and pretend none of this had ever happened. He could do that easily, but it would be a lie. He thought back to how thi whole thing has all started. At first Madison hadn't liked him at all. She barely spoke when he was around, and made little to no eye contact with him when he was with moll. He thought it was sweet, and when he brought it up to Molly she would just laugh it off. Soon enough Madison had warmed up to him, and he realized that she really was a sweet girl and it wasn't just a shy act or a tease. It was a huge difference from his girlfriend, who was not shy at all and could be very vulgar when she wanted. He liked that Madison helped keep Molly in control, and monitored her crazy behavior and over the top use of vocabulary. _

_He hadn't noticed Madison as more than his girlfriend's friend until she began acting as the middleman in their fights. He would fight with Molly, Molly would tell Madison, Madison would come to him, and they'd talk for hours and hours until he decided to forgive Molly or until Madison thought Molly wouldn't be mad anymore. They had formed a comfortable friendship, and soon she came to him about other things that didn't have to do with Molly. It wasn't until she came to him crying because she didn't know how to break up with Brooks that they even touched. Incidentally, that was also the first time they had sex as well, but was certainly not the last. They never talked about it, or put a label on what was going on, but they never stopped either. Sometimes he would intentionally find things to fight with Molly about so that he'd have an excuse to talk to Madison. It was sick, but he began falling for her in no time, and that scared him._

_He had noticed last night that something was off with her, and that's why he had decided to end things once and for all today. The plan was to meet and end things quickly, but she had pretty much pounced on him like she had never wanted anything more in the world. He had wanted it too, but for some reason on this day, unlike any of the others, he started to think about Molly and that's what had made him stop. It was a horrible situation to be in, but it wasn't fair to lie to Madison in this moment with her being so vulnerable with him._

"_I wish I didn't have to say it to you like this, because you deserve better than to be sneaking around with me in the first place, but I do love you Madison. That's the truth." She let out a huge smile, and that made him feel better for having to end things. At least no matter what, she could always have that moment._

"_I love you too Chase, which is why I need to tell you something."_

"_Go on, but we have to hurry so we can get to the Great Hall before the others get suspicious-"_

"_Chase, I'm pregnant."_

* * *

><p>Those three words, in that order, had played over and over again for the last three months. He did not know what to say then and he definitely did not know what to say now. He wouldn't have believed it, but there were a few very clear signs that he had heard her say that. For one, he received a mix of sympathetic and disgusted looks when he walked down the halls of the school. Sign number two was that, on the off chance that he crossed paths with a Weasley or Potter, he felt like he was facing the end of his life. They must have been ordered to not attack him, because no one made a move to kill, but their stares cut deeper than any dagger could. Three, things with Molly had gone back to the way they were before he asked her out. He was nervous around her, and she acted as if he was invisible. It wasn't until he wasn't walking by her side that he realized how much he had liked it there. She had begun straightening her hair again and wearing her make-up. He thought that since those were all the things he had requested she not do when they were together , it would be easier to see her, but it really made him hurt even more. She was still hands down, the most beautiful girl in school, and she used to be his. The fourth, and most clear reason that he knew this was all real, was the little bump that had formed around Madison's lower abdomen. There was a baby in there; his baby.<p>

Chase could admit to being a coward. He had been a coward for three years before being able to ask Molly out; he had been a coward when it came to her family members, especially James who was way younger than him; he had been a coward when he couldn't confront Carson about his flirting with Molly; he had been a coward for cheating on Molly in the first place; he had been a coward for trying to blame it on her; and now, he was a coward for not so much as thinking about Madison. He hadn't said anything after she told him the news, he had just walked to the Great Hall and she had followed. He hadn't said much when it all blew up in their faces, except for when he had yelled at Molly like an embicile. He had basically handled the situation with the tact and maturity of a 12 year old boy. Actually younger, because his brother Chance was 12 and he would have handled this a thousand times better than Chase had.

"Finnegan!" he heard, waking him up from his stupid thoughts. "Outside, now!" Chase had no clue what was going on, but the fact that Roxy had even acknowledged him gave him a glimmer of hope that maybe things could be ok. He didn't expect Molly to forgive him, but he would like the chance to apologize.

"Roxy! I've never been so happy to see you."

"Save it." She said, putting a hand to his chest and shoving him so that he was standing about 5 feet away from her. "What is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb Chase, what reason do I have to be talking to you? You're a real schmuck, you know that?"

"I'm sorry-"

"No! Don't apologize to me, and stop trying to apologize to Molly. She doesn't want to hear it and if I have to burn another one of your letters I will set them on fire in your bed."

"You've been burning them? So she hasn't gotten a single letter from me?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but she's read them and instructed me to burn them all. That's not what I wanted to talk to you about though. You do realize that Madison is pregnant don't you?" she asked, looking pissed. He had never imagined she'd have wanted to talk to him about Madison, of all things.

"Yes, it's crossed my mind."

"Cro- It's crossed your mind?" she asked, with her face losing its usual coolness and turning to anger. "So you mean to tell me you've spent every day for the last two months writing Molly four times a day, but you haven't spoken with the girl that is carrying your baby? She's become the school's number one subject becaue of you an her situation has only croosed your mind? What is _wrong _with you?"

"I-I don't know, I-"

"Chase, you've gotten yourself into some deep shit, but you're not even trying to come up with a solution. Man up and talk to Madison because she is _miserable_. She is miserable, and lonely, and doesn't even have the guy that knocked her up to talk to, and Merlin knows what all that stress will do to that baby. Your baby; that _you _helped make and are taking zero responsibility for. Like it or not you're a dad now Chase and you need to step up and accept what's happened. She didn't get pregnant on her own so don't let her go through this alone. I know you messed up but through all this crap, and despite how shitty you've acted, you can still do something right. If she wants you to still, which I'm sure she does, you can be there for her. Take that advice and do what you want with it, I'm done with this." She said, her face returning to the mask of ease and perfection.

"Thank you." He said, again feeling like a coward for being scolded by a girl younger than him.

"Don't thank me, get your shit together." She said as she began to walk away, "Oh! And if anyone finds out we talked… well, actually go ahead and let me find out that someone knew this conversation happened if you want. It's your ass, not mine."

This time she walked away for good, leaving him standing there in the middle of the corridor. Firstly, Roxanne was one of the most intimidating and terrifying young women he had ever encountered, but she had made some good points. If he had lost all his friends, he could only imagine how bad it was for Madison. People were probably saying terrible things about her, and he'd just been strolling around the halls like a tool, completely unscathed. Roxy also had another good point, in that there was the possibility that Madison didn't want to talk to him. He would understand if that was the case, but he would try his hardest to fix things. He should tell his parents, and do the right thing by Madison without his mum having to tell him so. In less than a few weeks, he'd be out of Hogwarts forever, so he might as well start acting like and adult now. He would focus on Madison and her- _their_ baby now, then try to fix things with Molly after everything cooled down. That might work.

He walked back into the Common Room, which had now filled with Molly and her family. Roxy continued talking as if they had never spoken and he ignored the stares from Lex and some of the other guys. He wondered what happened when Madison had to walk by them alone, but the thought made him feel terrible because it was his fault she was all alone. He wasn't allowed in the girls' dorms, and wasn't on good terms with any of them, so he had to go for option 2. He walked to the opposite side of the room where he saw Carly Davies sitting with her sister, Zack Longbottom and Dominique.

"Do any of you know where Madison is?" he asked. Dom simply scoffed and walked over to her family, but the other three looked amused.

"In her room. She's probably in there drowning in the sorrow of being a teen mother." One of the Davies twins said, "Why do you want to know? I thought you were in the running for the world's youngest dead beat dad."

"I need to talk to her."

"Isn't "talking to her" what got the two of you in this predicament in the first place? I heard that you and Molly used to fight, then you and Madison would "talk." That doesn't seem like the best idea right now."

"Give it a rest Carly, I need to see her."

"Touchy touchy." She said, not reciprocating his enthusiasm in the slightest. "But, you get points for getting my name right, so hold on."

A few minutes later, Carly came back practically dragging a disheveled, puffy eyed Madison. He hadn't looked her in the eye in weeks, but he had never remembered them holding such grief. She looked like she was about to walk into a lion's den, but Carly rolled her eyes and guided her in front of Chase.

"See? I wasn't kidding Baby Mama, someone really did want to see you."

"Madison?" he asked, making her look down at the floor embarrassed. "Can we talk?" A gust of life sprung to her eyes; this was probably the first decent human interaction she'd had since he tried to end things with her.

"Ew." One of the twins squeaked, "Take it outside." Chase took hold of Madison's hand and began guiding her out of the Common Room. Unfortunately they had to pass back by the Weasley section, but he was surprised when he was greeted with complete silence from the crew. Not one of them had made a sound or heckled the pair.

"Hey-"

"Hey?" she asked, pissed, "You all of a sudden want to talk to me now and all you say is hey? i've been through hell and-"

"I'm sorry! I'm really, truly sorry from the bottom of my heart." She let out a shaky breath and waved off his apology. She looked really exhausted and now he had probably interrupted her from sleeping. He just kept ruining things.

"What do you want to talk about Chase? I'm really tired."

"I don't want to beat around the bush, so I just want to ask if you want me to be in your life? You and the baby, that is." Her eyes went wide with surprise, but it passed as quickly as it came.

"Chase, you don't have to do that if you don't want. This is a big deal and if you're not ready-"

"I'm not ready for this, but I don't have much of a choice. I want to do this for you, not because it's the right thing but because I care about you and this is a responsibility we both share. You shouldn't be alone." She began to cry and he wondered what he had said wrong.

"I know you love Molly, not me, but-"

"That doesn't matter right now. From here on out I'm going to be here for you and the baby."

"Are you sure? Because I get it if you want nothing to do with this." She was giving him an out. Here she was, pregnant at 17, and she was giving _him_ an out. This is one of those cowardly moments. He could be a coward and take the out, or, he could start a new chapter and make up for all the mistakes he'd made in his life. He couldn't erase the past, but he could start brightening up his future.

"No, I want to do this." He said, with more confidence than he'd ever possessed in his life, "We can do this."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I figured Chase should do at least one thing right in his life. Thanks for all the reviews and things. Also it's been cool getting to know some of you! This sounds like the story is ending or something but I'm nowhere near done, I just want to express how much I appreciate the reviews! lol Ok? ok!_**

**_-Jazz_**


	21. Stay Awake

"Stay awake, get grip and get out  
>You're safe from the weight of the world<br>Just take a second to set things straight  
>I'll be fine even though I'm not alright<br>I can count on the sun to shine  
>Dedication takes a lifetime, but dreams only last for a night."<p>

-All Time Low

* * *

><p>Teddy couldn't believe he was almost a father. In just a few short days, he'd be holding his son or daughter in his arms. He also couldn't wait to see Victoire again. He had had the worst anxiety over having been away from her for the majority of her pregnancy. It had been easier to handle earlier on, but as she got closer and closer to her due date, he became more and more of a nervous wreck. He talked to her at least 12 times a day and he could tell he was getting on her nerves, but he just couldn't help himself. With each day she sounded more and more exhausted, and today they hadn't even spoken at all. He had tried to hide it throughout the day while he was teaching, but as the day wore on it had finally made a mess out of him. He jumped almost ten feet into the air when his 4th year class, and last class for the day, opened his door and came in.<p>

As Teddy's students filed into the classroom, he tried to focus on what he was supposed to do today. This was the last week of school and most teachers just let the students do whatever, but Teddy still wanted to at least lecture his students for the last few days. They didn't look too thrilled about it, but they truly didn't have a say in the matter. He saw three students in particular that looked less than thrilled to be there. Dom looked like she was at home in front of the TV instead of at class, James was already complaining to the Greengrass girl, and Fred was sleeping. They were really model students.

"Ok class, welcome to the last week of school. Today I want to talk to you about one of the more advanced spells; Expelliarmus. This is a disarming spell and can be very useful when used on an attacker." He had started calming down and getting into his teaching rhythm, but when he stepped from behind his desk he knocked over a photo of Victoire. Seeing her face behind that cracked glass almost made his stomach turn, but he had to keep it together. Just for one more hour. "Uh, what was I saying?"

"Goo goo gaga." One of his students answered.

"Excuse me?" When he looked up, all of his students had been transformed into babies. He was losing his mind. He shook his head, and all of them turned back into teenagers, except they now had his full attention thanks to his strange behavior.

"Using the disarming spell on an attacker…" Carter said, helping him out.

"Right. Right, so the main thing to remember when performing the disarming spell is to…" Teddy trailed off of what he was saying, because the thought of needing to disarm yourself made him worry that maybe Vic was in trouble. "You need to remember to uh…" Teddy knew how badly he wanted the students to get this last lesson, but how was he supposed to do anything with an extremely pregnant wife at home alone. She wasn't completely alone- her mom was staying with her- but he wouldn't be able to get to her until next week, which is a week before the baby was due. He couldn't do anything without thinking about her and it was literally driving him insane.

"Professor," one of his students called, "how could you leave you wife?"

"What did you just say?" he screamed, glaring at the offending student. The entire class, including James, Dom and Fred, looked back at him with confused and scared expressions.

"I just a-asked if y-you were alright, sir."

"Oh, sorry. I must've misheard you. So what was I saying again?"

"You were just about to tell us the main thing to remember when using the disarming spell." Fred answered wearily. Teddy had to pull it together if he was going to get through this lecture.

"Right. Well the main thing is to put emphasis on the second lullaby."

"And what exactly _is_ the second lullaby, professor?" James said with a smirk. "Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"

"Syllable! I meant the second syllable, not lullaby." Teddy corrected. Now he was just being an idiot. "You know what? Forget it. Class is dismissed early, go do whatever." That was probably the first thing he'd said that his students had understood all day, and they gave him no time to revoke or rethink his statement. Only three of his students were left in the classroom and they looked very concerned.

"You've really got baby brain today. Why are you freaking out so bad?" Dom asked.

"I don't know! I just feel like something's wrong and that I should be with your sister. What if she's not eating enough, what if your mom stepped out and she's all alone, or what if she goes into labor? Oh my god!"

"Don't worry, if Vic goes into labor early she'll owl you; we've gone over this and over this."

"But you know how your sister is; her pride is going to get in the way of telling me she's not ok. I just have a feeling."

"Then go to her, man!" James suggested.

"I can't, I have classes to teach."

"Look around buddy," Fred said slowly, "there's no one to teach. You dismissed everyone."

"Did I?" he asked, looking around. Surely enough there was no one in the room. McGonogall would surely rip him a new one for that later in the day. "Bloody hell, I'm losing it aren't I? But how am I supposed to stay sane with everything that's going on? It's the end of the year, I've got to get grades in soon, my wife could pop any second-"

"Woah, hold on there Ted. You _really _need to calm down or both you and Vic will be in the hospital next weekend. I'm really worried and this is coming from me!" Dom said as she guided him towards a chair in the class. "Obviously you need to just take off and go see Victoire."

"I can't do that! What about my classes?"

"All of our exams our over Ted, there's nothing else to learn. I don't know why you were even teaching today."

"I was just starting a few basics you guys will need for OWL's."

"OWL's?" James asked, "As in the exams we'll be taking _next_ year? Unnecessary; who's going to remember that crap over the summer? Maybe Al and his classmates, not us."

"But-"

"He's right." Fred agreed, "And as far as grading your last assignments goes, let Rose do it. She'd be great at it and she'd have a ball doing it."

"That's true-"

"And I'm sure Victoire is fine," said James, "but if you're that concerned stop making excuses and just go see her." Teddy thought about it, and his need to check on his wife outweighed his need to teach kids who were too excited about summer to keep listening. He could find a sub easy, not that there was really any material left to cover. McGonogall would understand; she loved Victoire like she was her own daughter and had always had a soft spot for Teddy.

"Fine, I'll go. I just need to send a letter to Fleur and I'll be on my way."

"You're going now? Cool. Take me with you."

"What about the end of the year feast, and awarding of the House Cup, and-"

"Who cares Teddy? If you've seen one, you've seen them all. And the huge vase filled with sapphires in the Great Hall is a dead give away that Ravenclaw is going to win. So, we leave tonight?"

"What?" Fred yelled, "Take me too! I don't want to be here either!"

"Me neither!" Teddy rolled his eyes, he should have known this was going to happen.

"Ugh. You know if I leave and take one of you, I'll have to get everyone else out too."

"Perfect!" James said as he walked to the door, "I'll go round up the troops."

* * *

><p>Victoire was going to scream if her mother didn't stop bothering her. She had been like a pain in Victoire's side the entire day, and she was overreacting. These were just minor contractions, nothing for anyone to be worried about. She tried to sit up in bed but a particularly strong contraction made her fall back on the bed and cry out in pain. Her mom was by her side within seconds and Vic tried to compose herself.<p>

"Victoire? Cherie? Eez everything ok?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine." She panted. Ok, so maybe she wasn't fine, but there was no need for her mom to get her bloomers in a bunch.

"We should call a healer-"

"NO!" she screamed. Her mom looked taken aback and she cursed herself for yelling. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to yell."

"Eet eez just zee 'ormones, I understand." Her mom began fiddling with the comforter and she knew there was something on her mind. It would have to hold on a second though, because she was overcome with a rippling pain. It felt like everything in her abdomen was pressing together, creating a mind numbing amount of pressure on her organs. The worst part about the contractions was that there was no way to escape them when they are happening. You simply have to succumb to it, yet when it was over, you felt immediate relief. She was so relieved, in fact, that she began crying at the beautiful feeling of not having a contraction. "Maybe we should call Teddy."

"Don't! He'll freak out worse than you are right now!"

"But Victoire, you are een lab-"

"I am not in any kind of labor mother! The baby isn't due for another week and a half! These are just little contr- _Oh!_" she screamed, as she felt a sharp pain near her rib. _That_ couldn't have been a contraction.

"Enough, Victoire! We are going to zee 'ospital. Now!"

"Mom, no! Teddy's not here! I can't go without him!"

"He eez on zee way now! I have spoken with him, end of discussion."

"_What!? _It's the middle of the day! He has classes to teach."

"Classes can wait. You need to calm down or the baby will feel stressed."

"There's nothing wrong maman! I'm fine!" She could tell that she wasn't exactly fine. She had been having these pains pretty much all day, and she felt kind of worried, but she refused to go to St. Mungo's without her husband.

"Vic!" she heard Roxy squeal. She was about to ask what in Merlin's name Roxanne was doing here, but she was even more surprised to see the rest of her family piled in the room looking on expectantly. It was pretty overwhelming seeing her baby brother and sister there, but by the time she saw Teddy stumbling into the room she was choking on her tears. It was one of those really unattractive cries where she was sniffling, and coughing, and gasping for air, but she couldn't help it because she felt happiness, and sadness, and anxiety over when she might have another contraction. Teddy came to her side and put both hands on either side of her face.

"How are you doing babe? I came as soon as I could." He said as he kissed away her tears. He was a strong man; she knew she had to have looked like 50 shades of gross right now, but he was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful person on the planet.

"What are doing here?" she asked, "All of you! School isn't over!"

"It is for us!" Louis said happily, "Are you ok? You don't look so good."

"She need to go to zee 'ospital now!" her mother shouted over the noise, "This baby will be coming any second now!" There was a moment of organized silence before all hell broke loose.

"You're in labor?"

"Yuck!"

"What do we do?"

"Is it coming out now? Right now?"

"Gross!"

They were all being loud, obnoxious, and a bit insensitive, but as another contraction hit her none of that mattered. She screamed, making a sound that was something close to what she imagined a feral beast would make. Everyone in the family screamed right along with her and she gripped Teddy's hand so hard that she was certain she heard something pop. The pain finally subsided slowly and she was able to let out a breath and relax, successfully silencing her family.

"Honey, we need to get you to St. Mungo's alright?" Teddy asked.

"Not yet!" she said quickly, "We still have to tell Aunt Hermione, Andromeda, our grandparents…we can't go yet. Plus, what about the kids that aren't going to St. Mungo's with us? They can't stay here alone!"

"Wait," Lily said sadly, "we don't all get to go?"

"We've decided that we only want our brothers and sisters there with us during the delivery. No offense to anyone else."

"None taken. I can stay here with them and call everyone that needs to be called." Molly offered.

"See?" Teddy asked, "Problem solved. Let's go."

After 5 rounds of goodbye's and a little time to get their stuff together, the small group of Weasley's, Lupin's and Potter's headed to St. Mungo's. As soon as they opened the doors, Hermione had her rushed to a room, set up, and sitting in the bed. Things were happening way faster than she thought they would and she was very nervous. Once all of the family they wanted there had arrived, things really kicked into motion. They gave her a potion to numb the pain, but Vic didn't have the heart to say that it wasn't working much. Teddy was already a nervous wreck and if he thought she was in pain he might go ballistic on all of the hospital staff. Only their mothers and Andromeda were left in the room when Hermione said the words Victoire was not ready to hear.

"Alright Victoire, we're ready for you to push."

"What? No! Oh no no no, I'm not ready."

"I think I know when a woman's ready to deliver; you're fully dilated and time is not exactly on our side right now. You're ready."

"Stop saying that, no I'm not! Teddy tell them! Tell them I'm not ready yet! I can't do this, I'm not strong enough!" her ranting was drowned out by a loud beeping coming from one of the many devices surrounding her bed.

"Teddy! We need you to help calm her down. If you don't get her heart rate down she'll put added stress on the baby."

"Tori, listen to me. You are ready. I love you so much and I know you're ready for this. If there is anyone on this planet that is strong enough to do this, it's you. Just breathe and get ready to push, ok?" She wanted to breathe normally and calm down. She really did, but she couldn't. It was insane because she was panicking about the baby, who could be harmed from the stress, but that thought brought on more panic! Ultimately, the thought of her baby being in stress sent her emotions over the edge and she couldn't handle it. She could hear everyone moving around her, but her vision was becoming blurry and she could no longer see. She could hear Teddy begging her to open her eyes and stay with him and she tried, but it was getting harder to concentrate on him. She was exhausted, and it was much easier to rest than fight to stay awake.

"The cord is tightening!" someone yelled, "We have to get the baby out now!"

"No. No! Don't close your eyes on me Vic. Look at me! Can you look at me please?" Victoire felt one last bit of pressure in her abdomen and it was enough to make the strongest woman crumble. Victoire heard the cries of a baby and it was a beautiful sound, maybe the best thing she had ever heard. Her baby was here, that was all that mattered. She could rest now, Teddy would take care of the baby; he could do it. The noises coming from the machines began to slow and she could feel hands working on her.

"Get Healer Chang! Her blood pressure is dropping fast and she's losing too much blood." That was her Aunt Hermione. She sounded panicked, which was never good. Something was wrong. "Keep her awake Teddy, we're losing her."

"Tori, I need you to stay here! Stay with me; do you hear me? Please don't do this to me, I can't make it alone. I can't do this without you!" She could only squeeze his hand in response. He could do this. If there was any man on this planet that was loving, patient, and kind enough to raise a baby alone, it was Teddy Lupin. "I love you Victoire, I always have. I'm going to keep loving you no matter what, but I may not make it if you leave me today."

There was a point in her life where hearing those words would have seemed like a dream. She was glad that they had finally grown up and found each other, and that they had fallen in love. It was a good, real, all-consuming love, and the baby she had just given birth to was proof of that. It would be the most loved, and looked after baby in the world and for that, she was grateful. Between Teddy, their parents, James, and the rest of the younger kids, that baby would know how it felt to be loved irrevocably and protected. That was all that mattered to her. She wished she could just see the baby once, but she couldn't hold on any longer.

Vic felt a sharp needle in her arm, and then she felt nothing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: What? I didn't update for like six days? No, that totally didn't happen...But yeah, this seems like a cliffy, but you will have all the answers in tomorrow's update. So don't hate me!**_

_**-Jazz**_


	22. Heavy Heart

"What in the world could it be  
>This time now<br>I thought that I could  
>Make it a day without<br>My heavy heart"

-Madi Diaz

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Louis! You have to stop joking around and get dressed!" Vic screamed. She had been trying to get him ready for two hours now, but Louis was having more fun letting her chase him all over the house. "Louis, you are 7 years old, these are things babies do."_

_He wasn't Lily or Lucy and calling him a baby wouldn't make him do what she said. Couldn't she see how fun this game was? It was the first time that Vic had babysat him and Dominique overnight, and she had been freaking out the whole time thinking that she was going to ruin it._

"_I don't like that shirt!" he screamed from behind the door of the linen closet where he was hiding._

"_You haven't even seen it, it's your favorite shirt!"_

"_How do you know what my favorite shirt is smarty pants?"_

"_Louis! This isn't funny! Mom and dad will be home soon and if you're still stark naked when they walk through the door then it's your arse, not mine."_

"_Ooooh! You said a bad word!" he sang._

"_Come on, please?" He opened the door and quickly ran between his sister's legs and into Dominique's room before he could think of what he was doing. "Louis, you maniac! Get out of there!"_

"_You have 10 seconds to explain to me why you're in my room half-naked." Dom said without looking up from the card house she was building._

"_Just messing with Victoire."_

"_I'm in." she said as she knocked over all the cards and rolled off of the bed. "On three I'm going to open the door. You go right and I'll go left. One, two, three…"_

_Dominique swung the door open forcefully causing Vic, who had been leaning on it, to fall face forward onto the floor. All at once Dom began laughing, Vic began crying, and Louis grabbed the shirt and pants and pulled them both on._

"_Ok Vic, you can stop crying. I got dressed." That didn't work at all, and now she was rubbing her knee which was probably bruised. "Dom stop laughing, she's really hurt!"_

"_Oh don't be a big baby, no she's not!" _

"_Yes she is, see?" He walked up to his sister who had her face in her hands and was still crying. He pulled her hand away slowly so he could see her face. "Are you ok Victoire? I'm sorry." The crying stopped immediately and she had him tackled to the ground tickling him mercilessly, "No fair! I thought you were actually hurt!"_

"_It would take a lot more than that to hurt me Louis, remember that." She said as she kissed him on the cheek._

"_Ugh, gross!"_

"_Deal with it. Now hurry up and get downstairs, I'm making breakfast." This time it was both him and Dominique that made disgusted faces. "Come on, my cooking is not that bad."_

"_It's not that good either." All three of them laughed but they went down to the kitchen anyway. Louis liked it when they were all getting along and having fun. They were loud, annoying, and crazy, but he loved his sisters more than anything._

* * *

><p>Louis could not stand the silence, or the waiting, or the anxiety of this night. Well actually it was very early in the morning, but it had been night time when they had originally arrived at St. Mungo's; Louis just hadn't been to sleep yet. The worst part of it all was that he hadn't seen his sister since they wheeled her off into that room. Hermione had told them all that the labor would be over before they knew it; she said that they had nothing to worry about and that everything would be fine. Clearly, things were far from fine. He and James had been goofing off when they first noticed that something wasn't right. Healer Chang had come bounding through the doors, running in the direction that Vic had been in. When she opened the doors to Vic's room the only thing that could be heard was a rapid beeping and Teddy pleading with Victoire to stay awake. Louis didn't like to panic, but he had watched one too many birthing videos with Victoire and he was positive that there was no way a woman could be sleeping during any of that.<p>

"What do you think is going on?" Lily asked worried, "James, what's happening?"

"I don't know Lil, I'm sure everything is going to work out though. Why don't you try to sleep a little? It's been a long night."

"I can't sleep. Not until I see someone; Vic, or Teddy, or a baby, or somebody!"

"Alright, alright, I was just suggesting." he said quickly. He sounded like his usual self, but Louis could see worry behind his eyes as well. He had seen more babies born than anyone in the room, so if he was worried, maybe there actually was something to worry about. Just as he was thinking this, Teddy burst through the room with a blank look on his face. It was as if he had used all of his strength and energy in that room and had nothing left in him. He looked tired and dejected, and it made Louis feel unsettled.

"How is she? Is the baby here?"

"She's fine," Teddy said quickly, "The baby that is."

"So it's a she?" Dom asked, "That's wonderful Teddy! Congratulations!"

"How's Victoire holding up?" Louis asked, wondering why this wasn't everyone else's first concern as well. Yes, baby was cute and all, but Victoire may not be okay. That seemed a little more important at the moment.

"She's…"

"What?" Louis asked, "She's asleep, she's tired, she's what?"

"She had a hard time Lou. We should have brought her to the Healer as soon as we saw her. The placenta detached, and caused a lot of internal bleeding, but they couldn't treat her without harming the baby so they had to-"

"You just let her bleed? You didn't try to help her?"

"The healers did everything they could for your sister and the baby-"

"The baby, the baby, the baby -don't you get it? I don't care about the baby right now, this is my sister you're talking about you bloody prat!" Louis felt bad as soon as he'd said it, but he couldn't hear another update about the baby when his sister was lying behind those doors. The longer Teddy waited to give information about her, the worse he thought she probably was.

"You need to calm down Louis." Lily said gently, "We're all worried about Victoire, trust me. Let Teddy talk ok?"

"Just tell us when we can see her, please?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but she's stable enough for visitors. The doctors only want a few in the room at a time, but even the slightest sign of stress can upset Vic even while she's unconscious. Lou I know you're anxious, but would it be ok if we let you calm down a bit? Maybe see what they have in the cafeteria?"

"Fine, whatever." He agreed. He didn't want to put her under stress any more than the next person. Dominique and Lily went in first, and Louis went to the cafeteria. This was his first time being at St. Mungo's that he could remember, and this was not how he had imagined. Everyone up near the rooms was stressed out and strung out, and that wasn't Louis' style at all. None of the people that were normally on the same page with him were here, so he felt kind of alone. He saw his Aunt Hermione sitting at a table having a staring contest with her soup, so he decided to sit with her. They had never really had a special relationship or anything, but she was Vic's favorite aunt and he'd take whatever connection he could get with her right now. "Aunt Hermione?"

"Yes?" she said as she snapped her head up quickly. He could see that she'd been crying, but was trying to smile because he was here. "Hey Louis! What are you doing up, kid?"

"Same as you I suppose. Worrying."

"I'm not worrying."

"Well you're crying. I know that means something's up."

"I'm not worrying, I'm empathizing I guess. Neither of my pregnancies were cake walks and I just can't believe I watched her go through something similar. She's practically still a child herself."

"Hardly." He scoffed, remembering how peeved his sister got the last time someone said she was a child. "Will she be okay though?"

"I was the one tending to your sister, of course she's going to be okay." He wanted to appreciate her joke, but he was too tired to even crack a smile. "Do you think Victoire is weak?"

"Weak? No! She's the strongest person I know."

"Exactly. She's going to be alright. Trust your Aunt."

"Louis?" Teddy called from the doorway, "Are you ready to see Vic now?"

"Yes, I'm coming." He said, trying to shake out the last of his worries. Hermione was right, Vic was a strong girl. He just wasn't sure if he was strong enough to see her lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Louis and Teddy walked side by side all the way up to the maternity ward, but the tension between them was thick. Louis had said some things he didn't entirely mean, but Teddy was biased because he had to love the baby. Louis hadn't even seen it yet, and his loyalties would always lie with his big sister. When they got up to the waiting room, he could see that the Potters were leaving for the night. James was carrying a sleeping Lily, alongside Al and their dad, who had a supportive arm around their mother. The adults had been in there this entire time, and Ginny looked like she hadn't even blinked since she'd gotten there.

"We'll be back first thing in the morning," Ginny said to Teddy as she hugged him

"Are you sure? You should really get some rest mum."

"_You_ should really get some rest Teddy, you did well today." Louis tried not to grimace. If everyone had done so well why was his sister knocked out instead of celebrating being a new mother? "You can call us by floo if anything changes or if you need anything. We'll keep the wards down in case you want to sleep at the house tonight."

"Thank you. Ready Lou?"

"Yeah." He took a deep breath and followed Teddy down the hall where he had previously seen doctors run in and out of like they were playing musical chairs. It was much calmer now, but he remembered the previous events of the day vividly. Just outside of the room with his sister's name on it, Dominique and their parents were sleeping in a couch across the hall. It really reminded him how tired he was, but he couldn't sleep yet. "Are you coming in too?"

"No, you can have a moment with your sister and the baby." Louis rolled his eyes and opened the door with a little more force than was probably necessary. If he heard the word baby one more time he might scream, which would probably only wake it up and cause more problems. The inside of the room was very cold, and his sister was wrapped up under what looked like at least ten blankets. She wasn't moving much at all, except for the small rise and fall of her chest. Even unconscious, she had a look of complete perfection and understanding on her face that he knew so well. Her hair had been curled and she was wearing light make-up; probably courtesy of Dominique. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her making as little noise as he possibly could. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do now. Should he talk to her? That might be weird. But it was only the two of them in there, so no one would hear their, or his, conversation.

"Vic?" he asked unsurely. It wasn't like he expected the sound of his voice to wake her up, but it was worth a try. "How are you? Well I guess that's a stupid question. I really wish you would wake up. Aunt Hermione said that your body was awake, but your brain had sort of gone into hibernation from the trauma. She said you were still here; you just needed time to find your way back. So, I'm going to try and do that because we all need you here; we can't have a brain as amazing as yours out in limbo somewhere." He laughed at his own joke. If she was awake she would have laughed too. Maybe she didn't just need talking, he thought. He reached out slowly and grabbed her hand. It wasn't cold like he'd expected.

"Remember that summer when we went to France to visit maman's parents? Tante Gabrielle and her snotty kids were the worst, and they couldn't stand three high-energy, entertaining, free-thinking Brits like us." He said with a laugh, reminiscing on the worst trip ever. They had missed out on Jamaica with their dad's side of the family for that, and even their mother had ended up regretting it. "Dom was determined to do the best prank ever and I was so happy when you agreed to do it with us, because you never helped us scheme before. I'll never forget the looks on their faces when their dessert blew up in their faces. It was priceless, and I just remember thinking for the first time that you actually were really fun and not such a stick in the mud. But I guess the point of this whole story is, I really miss those rare times when the three of us were all together and our usual selves. That was before Teddy and you got married, and before Dom started caring what people think of her, and before I- well let's face it, I'm still perfect. Sometimes I really wish we could go back to that time and enjoy it a little more, or even make some more of those good moments. We lived together forever, but the three of us never really got close. Now you're married with a baby, and we will probably spend even less time together."

Talking to her had really calmed him down a lot. She hadn't reacted to anything he said, but it felt good to get these things off of his chest; things he would probably never say out loud.

"I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've said this to you, but I love you Victoire. I know that's rotten because you've said to me at least 10,000 times, but I always thought you'd be here to say it. I guess I realize now that that's not true, so I want to even us up a bit. So I love you. Times 10,000, to make up for all those times I never said it back. Now we're even." He was going to start relaying his year at Hogwarts, but he was interrupted by a tiny noise. He hadn't even registered that the baby was in the room with them. Shouldn't a doctor or something be with it? It was lying in a clear box like thing, and was wrapped in a bunch of blankets and wearing a little hat. He guessed it couldn't hurt to just take a little peek.

He stood up quietly and walked around the bed to his "nieces" box. He approached it cautiously, as one would approach a wild animal, but was instantly relaxed when he saw how tiny she was. She was even smaller than the box, and was probably lighter than a feather. He stepped a little closer so he could do a full examination. It was hard to believe that this is what had been inside of Vic for 9 months. The baby had been the talk of the town for a long time, and it was finally here. It was tiny, extremely tiny, and it probably didn't appreciate being called 'it' even if it was just in Louis' mind. She was only a few hours old, or was she 9 months old? He'd have to ask someone how that worked exactly. She looked extremely peaceful and innocent and it dawned on him that she knew nothing of the world. She didn't know about Quidditch, or magic, or Father Christmas or anything like that. She was pure and innocent, and she was going to stay that way if Louis had any say in the matter. She didn't know about Dementors, or pain, or anything bad or evil. At this point, she may not even know her mom yet, but as she yawned and opened her eyes, she now knew Louis.

It was pretty amazing how much her eyes looked like Victoire's. He thought she wouldn't have such a distinct eye color yet, but that was all Victoire that he saw staring up at him curiously. Her face scrunched up into an uncomfortable grimace, and she began opening and closing her mouth as if she was trying to cry, but no sounds came out. Her tiny hand slipped out of its mitten and Louis figured he should put it back on. He didn't know if it was a good idea to touch her, but the room was freezing and she was so small. He reached into the box but when he went for the mitten, she grabbed his finger with more force than should have been possible. She had a grip like a vice and he couldn't pry his finger out of her hand without upsetting her, and the last thing he needed was for the baby to start crying. When he just decided to let her have the finger, her eyes closed contentedly and she fell back to sleep. Boy was she going to be spoiled.

"I didn't really like you at first, for hurting my sister." He whispered to the baby, "But I guess you're not that bad. I actually quite like you Lena."

"Lena?" a scratchy voice asked, "Don't I get to name my own baby?"

"Vic!? Oh thank Merlin, you're awake! Should I get Teddy, or mum, or-"

"No, let them sleep. You can bring the baby over here to me, though. I want to see her."

"Are you sure? I mean, everyone's waiting for you to wake up."

"It's fine Louis, bring her to me."

"Uh, I shouldn't pick her up I don't think." He said nervously, "Not yet. I think I should just roll her over there." Without removing his finger from her grasp, he made sure she wasn't hooked up to any machines or anything and gently rolled the box so that she was sitting next to Vic.

"She's pretty amazing isn't she? I can't believe she's my daughter or that I'm a mother now."

"I can. I mean, you're pretty much destined to be the best mother on the planet. How are you feeling though?"

"Tired, sore, relieved that she is here and healthy, but mostly tired."

"You gave me a right scare you know that? I yelled at Teddy and even had to be sent to time out in the cafeteria."

"Louis-"

"No, Vic. Don't ever do that again, do you understand? You can't leave me like that without any notice or a goodbye or anything! Ever! Dominique and I would be hopeless without you, Vic. I don't know what we would have turned out like or if I would even be alive today if it was just me and her so please-"

"Louis I'm here, ok?" she said as she wiped away a few tears, "I'm not going anywhere buddy so don't worry." He finally let go of the baby and gave his sister a tight hug.

"Fine, but you better promise."

"I promise." She said firmly. "So, you like the name Lena?"

"Actually I was thinking Catalena, but Lena for short. You don't have to call her that, but it means pure; just like her. I'm going to call her that if you don't mind." Vic looked at the baby curiously and smiled.

"I think that's an excellent name. Catalena Lupin." He couldn't believe that Vic was going to use the name he had picked out. He and Lena would always have that to bond them no matter what, which was pretty cool. He was starting to like the idea of being an uncle more and more, and it was hard not to love Lena. He'd pay money to see someone try.

"Well, I guess I should give you two a minute alone." He said, noticing that his sister was drifting back to sleep.

"Alright, Lou. Thanks for talking with me."

"Anytime, sis." He said as he kissed her on the forehead. He leaned over Lena and kissed her as well. "Goodbye little Lena; I'll be back in the morning." He headed for the door, thankful that everyone was safe and he could finally get some sleep.

"Oh, and Louis?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too. Times 20,000."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: About the name Catalena... I got it from the name Catalina (I threw in the e for originality lol) which is just the Spanish version of Catherine, meaning innocent and pure. Seemed like a sweet name, so I used it. Also, I couldn't kill Vic! That would have sent me into depression for days! I just wanted to keep you guys on your toes, and I think it worked...hehe**_

_**-Jazz**_


	23. Fallin' For You

"I don't know, but I think I may be fallin' for you  
>Droppin' so quickly, maybe I should keep this to myself<br>Wait until I know you better  
>I am tryin' not to tell you but I want to<br>I'm scared of what you'll say  
>So I'm hidin' what I'm feelin'<br>But I'm tired of holdin' this inside my head

-Colbie Caillait

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Linden absolutely loved Monday mornings. There was something about the fresh start of a new week that she found simply endearing. Anything could happen at this point, and it was one day closer to being the weekend again. So far, there was nothing different about this Monday. She had come to breakfast with Hollis and Leah, fixed her plate- with a little more than usual- and listened to Hollis' new gossip, then Carter and Fred had come shortly after. They laughed and talked and joked about how James was always late and would complain the rest of the day because he had barely had time to eat. Things were going smoothly, and she could tell it was going to be a good, normal day._

"_Class starts in fifteen minutes people," Carter said with a smirk, "James should be making an appearance in 3…2…." Right on cue, the doors of the Great Hall flew open and James ran towards them looking disheveled. He only had one shoe on, his shirt was halfway unbuttoned and his hair was a mess, sticking up more than usual. "Well, he's nothing if not consistent."_

"_Hey everyone!" he said as he searched the table for scraps of food. As usual there wasn't much left, but today, instead of complaining he looked up at her and smiled. "Good morning Love."_

"_Uh, m- morning James." She practically stuttered. She looked down at her plate, embarrassed by her response, and remembered why she had grabbed so much food in the first place. "I saved you some sausages, and you can have the rest of my eggs. I'm full."_

"_Thanks, I'm starving!" he said as she shoveled eggs and sausages onto his plate. She was going to just get up and go to class now, but as she did her daily check to make sure she was prepared for the day, she realized something was missing from her book sack._

"_Ugh, I have to run up to my dorm. I forgot my notebook."_

"_No need." James said as he reached into his bag. "You left it in the library last night and I got it for you. I know how you freak out when things aren't in their place."_

"_Oh my goodness! Thanks!" She was so grateful that she reached over and squeezed his hand in thanks. Now it was his turn to splutter out a response, and the tips of his ears were briefly brushed red. The fact that she made him blush made her go red, which was even more embarrassing._

"_You're welcome." Linden looked around and noticed that there were four pairs of eyes staring at her and James in shock._

"_What?" they asked in unison._

"_Ok. I really hope Voldemort got his scarves and gloves because hell is about to freeze over."_

"_Stuff it, Fred. What are you on about?"_

"_The two of you are being all…nice. To each other."_

"_So?" they asked._

"_And you're saying things at the same time! You're being weird!" Linden looked at James, who seemed unfazed by the entire interaction. At first, Linden thought he was just talking when he said they should try being friendly with each other, but he was cool as a cucumber and acting as if this was normal behavior for them. He was almost attractive when he wasn't being a pompous, big-headed fool._

"_Oh my gosh," Hollis said, "neither of them is denying it and they still haven't said sike or anything! What the heck is going on?"_

"_Nothing is going on people, you're all paranoid." James defended, "Whatever, I've got to go check on Lily. Coming Love?"_

"_Nah, I'm going to head to class. See you later." She walked out of the Great Hall and waited for the expected footsteps of her friends._

"_Linden! You get your eggs sharing butt back here now and explain to me what's going on!" Hollis screamed. _

_"My 'eggs sharing butt?' That sounds so wrong." Linden stopped walking and saw Carter and Hollis trying to catch up with her. _

_"Dn't try to make me laugh and change the subject. Explain yourself missy."_

"_Fine. James and I are friends. That's it. Happy?"_

"_No, I'm not happy." She responded while Carter simply laughed. They were both idiots, but when Linden walked away to enter the classroom the two followed. "Since when are you two maniacs friends?"_

"_Since last night when we were in the library and decided to "play nice"-his words not mine."_

"_Play nice?" Carter asked "What the hell is that all about? I mean, I'm glad you've each gained a friend, but your little unrequited love-fueled bickering kept me entertained."_

"_Unrequited love? Now you're freaking me out."_

"_James is one of my best friends, I know when something is weird with him and he's been acting strange since he introduced a certain girl to his parents."_

"_And you are one of my best friends," Hollis interrupted, "and I know you're being a huge weirdo because you have a little crush on someone ever since you met their parents. You like James don't you?"_

"_Hollis! Could you be any louder?"_

"_I could, but I won't. Why don't you just admit you like him?"_

"_Because I don't! Or at least I think I don't. How am I supposed to know the freaking difference? Gah! Being a teenager is the worst."_

"_Don't worry Linden, if you like him you'll know."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean, if you two are meant to be together you'll just know when you know."_

"_Oh wow Carter, thanks for giving me the worst advice ever. Of course if I knew I would know, then I wouldn't be in this situation!"_

"_I don't think that's what he meant-"_

"_Well then Hollis, do tell me exactly when you love birds just knew?"_

"_First time we met." Hollis said easily, unfortunately for her Carter's answer was not the same. "End of second year? Carter, I told you how I felt about you around the second week of school!"_

"_No, you couldn't have. We were like 11-"_

"_You don't remember? Apparently not, since you didn't notice me until a whole two years later!" she said as she stormed out of the room._

"_Hollis, wait!"_

"_What's up with those two?" James asked, making it to class right before the professor._

"_Just relationship stuff." She answered casually._

"_Ugh, it's bloody ridiculous if you ask me."_

"_Them or relationship stuff?"_

"_Both. They wouldn't be like that if it wasn't for their relationship. That's why I'm single; relationships ruin everything."_

"_Oh." She said, trying not to sound disappointed. Not that she was ga ga for James Potter, but it wouldn't help her figure it out if he wasn't even interested in a girlfriend._

"_Not that I'm completely opposed to the idea of having a girlfriend."_

"_Oh?"_

"_I just don't want to rush into anything."_

"_Oh." An awkward an extremely abnormal silence fell between them, and she was starting to wish this Monday had never even happened. "That's interesting. Change of pace from the 12 year old James that was searching high and low for a girlfriend."_

"_And 12 year old inden talked me out of that one._ _You were right._ _I mean, my dad waited 6 year for my mum, broke up with her, fought a war, got her back, and hasn't let go since. That's real love, not these trivial flings people are having in school. I want what my parents have. I know that's cheesy-"_

"_No, it's not. It's actually really sweet."_

"_Well, I have my moments." Linden smiled, silently agreeing with him. If she thought she was confused before, she didn't know what to call herself now. So not only was he capable of holding a decent conversation, he believed in true love. She may just be falling for James Potter, or had she already fallen?_

* * *

><p>Linden looked herself up and down in the mirror trying to decide whether or not this was a good idea. Maybe she had gone overboard, but she was almost 15 now, and it was about time she started acting and dressing like it. This day was no different than any other, so she didn't know why was she getting all flustered.<p>

"Linden, what are you doing in there? Me and Leah have been done forever and the boys will be here any minute!" Hollis screamed from the other side of the door. She knew there was a problem when Hollis Yates was telling someone else to hurry up getting ready. If she didn't just go out there, she'd never do this so she swung open the door. "For the love of all that is holy, are you wearing a bikini?"

"I should change, shouldn't I?"

"No! Are you kidding?" Leah squealed. "You look amazing! I can't believe modest little Linden has a body under all that preppy swag."

"Is it too much? I just want to look more…mature."

"Well, you look hot. Better than mature if you ask me. And who, may I ask, are you trying to look mature for?"

"Why does it have to be for somebody?"

"Because we've been coming to my lake house for my birthday every summer for four years and you've worn your exact same one piece, polka dot bathing suit. This year however, you're wearing this gorgeous bikini and isn't is too far away from you making an agreement to "play nice" with James Potter." Linden cursed her fair skin for giving her away. She felt her face and ears go hot, and could imagine her face all red and flushed. "Well well well, I do believe you're getting all dolled up for James. I knew you liked him!"

"Will you hush? Leah didn't know thank you very much."

"Oh please, I've known for a year and a half. How do you think Fred figured it out?"

"Fred knows? What the hell Leah?!"

"Oh cry me a river, Fred isn't gonna say anything."

"It's embarrassing either way! Ugh, let's just go down to the pool. You guys suck."

Linden couldn't believe that they all had been thinking these things about her and James behind their backs. He would probably flip out if she told him; or laugh in her face, which would be extremely embarrassing with all of the confusing feelings she had going on. Linden did not like chaos, or disorganization, or anything that wasn't self-explanatory and black white. That was part of the reason she and James clashed in the beginning anyway. From the first night when they disobeyed Vic and snuck into James' dorm room, Linden knew he was trouble. He was sly and cocky, and always made a big scene. He always wanted to prank someone, or play a joke on someone, and as an 11 year old, Linden just found that to be a little childish. She had never really gotten ok with it, but she was used to his hyperactive ways.

She had started seeing a little change in him last year, when they had gotten into that big argument. It was nothing new that they had fought, but she was surprised that he had worked so hard to try and apologize, then had _actually _gone and apologized. It was weird. Then, he had introduced her to his parents, knowing that their parents had had issues in the past and that they might very well hate her. The real change came when Lily started at Hogwarts and she saw that it was capable for James to care about anyone other than himself. It was the kind of relationship that Linden hoped she could have had with an older brother, and she had no problem agreeing to check on her. The fact that he trusted her with Lily really showed that even though they may not say it out loud, they had a special bond.

Ever since then, Linden had been getting strange feelings around him and she was looking at him in a different way. They complemented each other well, and he brought out a more fun side of her, only she wasn't so sure he felt the same way. She was probably a pain in the ass to him. She nagged him about being on time, and his attitude, and made him do schoolwork when he'd rather be doing almost anything else. One day he even wrote a list of 500 things he'd rather be doing at the moment than studying. He would probably like an adventurous and spunky girl like Leah or some girl that liked to be babied like Hollis. Linden was too independent for her own good, she didn't have a huge drive to be the loudest or most noticed person in the room, and she could take care of herself- a concept that was unimaginable to James. Not to mention he didn't even want a girlfriend right now, according to him, because he was waiting for "the one." She didn't really want a boyfriend either, or at least she didn't think she did. Ugh, these things were so confusing; where were the books on this stuff?

"Linden, come on! The boys are already in the pool." Leah said as she ran and jumped in at full speed. All the boys went crazy laughing splashing her, and James came out to walk towards her and Hollis.

"Uh oh, Potter is looking mighty fit in those swim shorts don't you think?" Linden rolled her eyes at Hollis, but she had to agree. Somehow between the last times they swam and now, he had gotten a little leaner and he had defined muscles. "Are those abs? Looks like you're not the only one with a new hot body."

She let out a small groan because he looked good, and the fact that she had just thought that grossed her out completely. James ran up to Hollis and wrapped her in a huge hug, sufficiently getting her wet when he knew she never got in the water. That was one of those immature things he did that used to get on her nerves, but now she was feeling some type of way about him being close to her best friend like that.

"James, get off! You'll mess up my hair!"

"It looks fine Holls, it always does. You know I'm just messing with you." Wait, did he just compliment her and apologize for his actions without a sarcastic remark? Hollis broke out into a grin and giggle stupidly. Linden knew that smile and that giggle- that was her flirty smile and giggle. Why was Hollis flirting with James and why did that bother her?

"And you know how I feel about getting my hair wet. I'm gonna go lay out. Coming Lindy?"

"Yeah, in a second." She said, hoping Hollis wouldn't say anything stupid or more importantly, anything else to James. Luckily, she just shrugged and walked off, leaving the two of them alone. "Hey James!"

"Hey Linden, nice swimsuit. Looks good." She didn't know if she felt butterflies in her stomach because he was being nice, or because he thought she looked good. Either way, the feelings were enough to leave her speechless, something that never happened when she was with him. This was probably exactly what he meant when he said relationships ruined friendships, because right now she probably looked like a complete idiot with her mouth opened looking anywhere but at his body. "Okay. I'm gonna just go in the water." He said slowly. He definitely noticed the weird behavior and threw her another weird look before going into the pool again. Great, now he probably thought she was crazy. Linden shook her head from side to side hoping she could shake the blush from her face as she lay in a beach chair next to Hollis.

"I'm officially a huge idiot."

"What? Is the sexual tension between you and Potter killing you too? Because it's driving me nuts."

"Sexual tension? What are you on about?"

"You were awful back there just watching us and seething with jealousy. It was all over your face."

"Jealousy? I was _not _jealous."

"Oh please, you were huffing and puffing like a fat kid that just ran a marathon."

"I am not jealous that James hugged you; that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"You swear you're not jealous? Let's put that theory to a little test then, shall we?" she said as she stood from her chair and walked closer to everyone else and to the pool. What on earth was she doing? Hollis never touched the water when they went swimming, and now she was willingly sashaying over there in her little skimpy bathing suit with a huge hole cut out in the side going to purposely flirt with James Potter. She tip toed behind him, kneeled down, and splashed water onto the back of his head. Either he knew she was coming or he was just that quick, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the pool, successfully dunking her in the water. Surprisingly she came up laughing, and she and James began to fight playfully. It was absolutely sickening. They were holding hands, and he was tickling her sides where the bikini was cut out, and she couldn't see well, but judging their proximity Linden assumed Hollis had her legs wrapped around his waist under water. Through all of this, Carter was just looking on amusedly, like anyone would look at two friends that were just joking around, but Linden on the other hand, wanted to pull them apart so forcefully that they'd be afraid to ever touch again. "Ok, ok, I give! You're stronger than I thought."

"Of course I am. Don't you forget it." Was he flirting with her?

"You're so full of yourself. I'm getting out." She kissed Carter- who Linden thought should be appalled by his girlfriend's behavior- quickly before jumping out of the pool. What was this girl trying to prove? That she could snag James away from Linden like she had done Dominique and Carter? "Well…"

"Well what?" Linden snapped, before stopping herself.

"You should really be more careful, your jealousy is showing." She said with a smirk.

"I am not jealous and I can't believe you just flirted with James in front of your boyfriend. I'm surprised he's not screaming!"

"Carter's not screaming because my flirting with James was his idea. We were trying to prove a point to both of our friends and it worked."

"What point is that? That you two should receive the most outrageous couple ever award?"

"No, that you're jealous and that he likes you."

"How does him flirting with you prove he likes me? Doesn't that prove he likes you?"

"No, silly. James is all into "the one" and "true love" and all of that bullshit. James is gonna flirt with a million girls, but it's just that. Flirting. Have you noticed that he acts differently around you? He gets all mature and stuff around you because you don't like that pranking and joking stuff, and he's trying to get you to notice that he can be serious. Just admit that the sight of my gorgeous body pressed up against that cute little six-pack of his made you want to punch me."

"I think slap is a more appropriate term."

"Aha! So you were jealous.

"Ugh, fine. I like him, but I can't do anything about it."

"Why not?"

"He says he doesn't want to be in a relationship because it ruined friendships, and that has to be directed towards me. Aside from his family, me, you and Leah are his only girl friends and he doesn't see either of you _that_ way. His words, not mine."

"Understandable. But would you rather not go for it and stay good friends with more than enough sexual tension for the entire world, or risk your friendship for what could end up being an amazing relationship?" She definitely had a point there. Linden agreed with his logic though, and she didn't want to lose him because they dated and started hating each other. Looks like she had a decision to make. "Can you promise me one thing though?"

"What?"

"Don't not go for him just because he said something stupid one day before class started. Boys say things all the time and have no idea what they're talking about. You have to dig deep on this one and just go for it."

"I know, I'll try." So now she liked James Potter? This was going to be very interesting.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hello all! Finally back at school :/ Quick update to make the Monday a little less sucky!**_

_**-Jazz**_


	24. Work This Out

"We've got to work, work  
>To work this out<br>We'll make things right, the sun will shine  
>If we work, work there'll be no doubt<br>We can still save the summer  
>If we work this out"<p>

-HSM Cast (Weird song, but it fits lol)

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Hugo had no idea why his mother would be waking him up this early on a Saturday in the summer. They had just gotten back from the most disastrous family vacation of all time, and Hugo felt like he deserved a little break. At least his parents had been civil lately; the two of them hadn't so much as bickered the entire summer and it had created and eerie kind of calm in their house. His parents-and Hugo could not make this up- had even been affectionate towards each other these last few weeks. They had been playful and giggly and it was enough to really creep Hugo out completely._

"_Hugo, are you coming down or have you decided to show a complete disregard for your mother?" she said from the bottom of the stairs. He could picture her nose flaring, arms crossed, trying to sound as calm as possible without actually freaking out._

"_I'm coming!" he screamed as he finally got out of the bed. He had been awakened out of sleep in this house enough times to make it all the way to the kitchen without even opening his eyes. "Morning mum."_

"_Good morning. Well tuck in, we need to have a chat and I find you more reasonable while you're eating." He reached towards the table and grabbed a piece of toast, all with his eyes still closed. He could hear his mom sit her coffee mug down and take a seat across from him at the table. He could hear his mom tappping her foot, and knew it was only a matter of time before he would be reprimanded for sleeping at the breakfast table, so he opened his eyes slowly, only to be greeted by a complete stranger. He choked on his toast and the lady that had replaced his mom patted his back. "Don't be so dramatic Hugo, you'll choke."_

"_Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" he asked. This lady sounded like his mom and looked stern like his mom, but this was not his mom. This lady had an extremely short haircut, wore fresh make-up, and was wearing a dress and heels. Heels, for crying out loud!_

"_I am your mother silly, it's only a haircut; Rose likes it."_

"_It's only a haircut? Nothing in this family is ever _only_ anything. Has dad seen it?"_

_"No, he has not." she said indignantly, "And I don't think he will be seeing it for a while."_

_"He may be im, but I think he'd noticed that you chopped all of your hair off."_

_"Don't call your father dim, Hugo. I meant that he may not be seeing me for a while. At all."_

_"Why not? What's going on?" she put on concerned face and started rubbing his shoulder. Whatever was happening must be big, because she was pulling out all of the stops for this conversation._

"_We really need to talk about some things Hugo; things about the family."_

"_Alright. Well where is the rest of the family? Rose and dad?"_

"_They're having a chat of their own in town." She said uncomfortably. He could tell that this was something big because their parents never did the whole tag team thing. They believed in power in numbers and usually disciplined and chatted together. Well, their mom disciplined and their dad chatted and it usually turned into an argument. "Honey, your father and I think it would be best for both you and Rose if we were to separate for a while."_

"_So, __you're getting divorced?"_

"_No, we're separating. It's a temporary thing just so we can both see where our heads are at."_

"_Where your heads are at? You've been married for 16 years, I think it's pretty clear where your heads are at. I know you guys hate each other, but you can't just up and get divorced."_

"_We are only separating for a little while Hugo, we are not getting divorced; and your father and I do not hate each other. We need this separation because we've behaved like two children for the past 16 years. It should never look like two married adults that grew up together truly hate each other, and I apologize for that. You and Rose have suffered because of our immaturity and I'll never forgive myself for that."_

"_You're sure you're not getting divorced?"_

"_I am not divorcing your father; I know we don't always see eye to eye, which is something we're working on, but I wouldn't do that to him. We've put way too much time and energy into this relationship to just give up on it, and we both agree that divorcing is not an option. I could never dishonor your father that way."_

"_It's not my father that I'm worried about, it's you! For all I care he could-" Hugo didn't dare continue judging by the look on his mother's face. "Sorry, I'm just not his biggest fan right now. What exactly do you plan on doing during your separation? I know you hate idle time so I'm assuming you're going to use the time to do something significant."_

"_I don't know about significant, but I'd like to go back to what I love. I think I'm going to quit my job at St. Mungo's."_

"_Quit? And do what?"_

"_I'm considering going into Magical Law Enforcement. Kingsley has been bugging me about it for years, and I just want to get back to using all of my brain instead of just signing off on research programs and overseeing hospital affairs."_

"_That's great mom! But you'd be working in the same place as dad then."_

"_I know, but we'll be in different departments so I don't see that being a problem. And like I said, we're not splitting up, we're not seeing other people, we're just taking a break because we've been in each others personal space for going on 22 years now and it's taken a toll on us mentally. In a way, we need the space to remember why we love being together."_

"_Well where's he going to go when you guys, you know, separate? Uncle Harry's?"_

"_That's something we need to discuss." She said quickly, "Would you like some more food?"_

"_No, thank you. Where's dad going?"_

"_He's going to stay here, actually."_

"_Oh." He said, actually looking forward to a break from the house. He'd figured his mom would be the one that wanted to stay, but he didn't mind going somewhere else for a while. "So where are we going?"_

"_I'm going to Paris. With Rose." Hugo nodded slowly taking it all in, but he realized she had yet to mention wheat Hugo would be doing._

"_And I'm going…?"_

"_We've decided that you are going to stay here, with your father." Betrayal. At this time, Hugo felt complete and utter betrayal. "Don't get mad-"_

"_Are you kidding me? You want me to stay here with that git? Sorry, I love you, I think you're brilliant and all-knowing and would never cross you on anything but this. It's not happening. He likes Rose; she can stay here and I'll go to Paris with you."_

"_Hugo your father loves you and your sister-"_

"_Well he's got a pretty funny way of showing it considering he adores her and he can't even look at me."_

"_Hugo Weasley, that is not true. You and your father need to figure out whatever it is that got you out of whack and it's nothing that Rose and I can figure out for you. You need this as much as he does because it's killing both me and him to not have a relationship with his son. So will you do this for me? Please?" She was trying to kill him. Hugo hadn't said a word to his father in almost a year; leaving them in a house together would be torturous for them both. But, he couldn't just say no to his mom, because he wasn't an idiot._

"_Ok, I'll stay. Under one condition."_

"_And what is that?"_

"_You have to promise to cover up a little more in Paris; I wouldn't want to have to hex some French idiot for hitting on my mom." He laughed even though he was only half kidding._

"_You're a sweet boy, Hugo." she said as she hugged him. "Everything will be fine I promise."_

"_Whatever you say."_

* * *

><p>"Dad, I'm going to Shell Cottage!" Hugo said, hoping he could make it to the floo before anyone said anything to him. He picked up his football gear and ran down the stairs taking them two at a time. He cheered silently when he saw the path to the fireplace clear and rushed to pick up a handful of floo powder. He was just about to step in when he heard a pop and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Mother fu- dad, what are you doing?"<p>

"I think that's the question I'm supposed to be asking, yeah?"

"Sorry, I'll just be on my way then." He grabbed another handful of powder but was yanked out of the fireplace for a second time.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast son. Since when do you just announce your departure and pop out of the house without asking?"

"Since I figured that just telling you would be more productive than me asking, you saying no, and us fighting about it the entire night. See, I saved both of us some time."

"Do you do that when your mother is around?" his dad asked, as if he really wasn't sure whether or not they were allowed to just disappear from the house. It was clear who wore pants in this house pre-separation, considering his dad had not one clue about how to manage the household.

"Not exactly."

"So you think you can just walk all over me because Hermione's not here?" his dad asked, getting red in the face.

"Did you want me to answer that or was that rhetorical?" Hugo was usually a well-mannered child, but he made a special exception for Ron Weasley.

"Oh yeah? Just for that, you're grounded. Starting immediately."

"Grounded? You're joking."

"Does it look like I'm joking? You won't be going anywhere young man." Hugo narrowed his eyes at his dad, not believing the old geezer was serious about grounding him. "I want you to go upstairs and you better not sit your butt anywhere other than your bed."

"Whatever." He said as he turned for the stairs.

"And stop talking back to me! You're bloody incorrigible, you are."

"Spell incorrigible." He mumbled

"What was that?"

"Nothing father." He called out before slamming his door. Where did his father get off yelling at him and grounding him? When in his cushy little upbringing was he ever grounded? You can't be completely absent from your child's life, and then decide one day to up and be a parent. That wasn't how that worked, which is why Hugo believed he would never be able to take his dad seriously with that stuff. There was no way he was staying at home all day; all of his friends were going to be at Shell Cottage, and he was not going to miss that. He and his dad could play this whole father/son game tomorrow. His bag was already packed and he figured it best to make a speedy escape. Lily, Louis and Lucy would be so proud to know that he was going to use the escape plan they had created years ago in case of an emergency.

He turned up his radio enough so that it sounded like he was listening, but not so loud that his father would yell at him to turn it down. Years ago he had complained about not having the room on the third floor, but was thankful as he would only have to scale down the side of their house one story. He secured his satchel and began to climb out of the window slowly. He was pretty sure his muggle neighbors could see him, but they always thought the Weasley's were strange so they wouldn't bother telling on him. He took a deep breath before letting go of the sewage pipe a falling into the bushes harder than expected. Luckily he didn't move because the kitchen windows swung open and his father stuck his head out wildly.

"Who's there?" his dad asked, rather paranoid. He looked around for a few more seconds before going back into the house mumbling. "Bloody gnomes."

Hugo practically crawled to the shed and thanked his lucky stars that his father never listened to his mother, because he had left the shed unlocked again. He really hoped that he could be a better husband to his wife in the future, because the way his father regarded his mother was just sad. His mom only had one rule, and that was to listen to her. Unfortunately his father could care less about that rule and the result had been a separation. At first Hugo felt bad for his dad, losing the only girl that's ever truly loved him, but seeing how helpless his dad was made him realize just how much he needed this separation. Maybe by the end of if he'd have enough under cooked food, dirty dishes and dirty clothes to truly appreciate how much his mom did while holding a full-time job. He shook the thoughts of his father's incompetency away as he quietly moved towards the brooms. There were 7 total; 3 for their dad, two for company, and one each for Rose and Hugo. Since their dad hadn't had nice things growing up, he liked to go the extra mile sometimes, which included having enough like-new brooms for an entire Quidditch team stocked in the backyard. He grabbed his father's broom from its holding place and made a mental note to be extremely careful with it. This was his father's favorite broom, but it was the fastest in the shed and he figured the faster he got there, the faster he could get back home.

He mounted the broom and couldn't help but feel a rush of exhilaration and freedom. Hugo and Rose Weasley were not rule breakers by any means, and it felt good to rebel for once. He figured he deserved a break because his father had been a pain in his side from the second his mother and sister left for Paris. The first week had been spent in complete silence, because one thing they did have in common was the inability to fill in awkward silences or make small talk. They had nothing to talk about; ever since he had blown up on him about the whole Quidditch thing, his dad had been walking on eggshells around him and Hugo didn't really know how to respond to that. After his dad burned breakfast for the 9th time, Hugo had decided to ask if he needed help. It hadn't made the food taste any better, but at least they were used to each other's presence. By week two, any and everything annoyed his dad and it drove him crazy. He was clearly going through some sort of emotional thing but it was absolutely uncalled for. Hugo's response was to go to Shell Cottage, and that was exactly what he had done. As he lowered his broom, he could make out the shapes of his friends hanging out in Louis' backyard. He landed swiftly and ran towards the group of kids.

"Hey everyone!" he said cheerfully. Lily snapped her head around at the sound of his voice and looked completely surprised.

"I thought you weren't coming!"

"Yeah," Lucy added, "we heard that you were grounded."

"I am." He said with a confident smirk.

"You snuck out?" Louis asked, "No way! You flew all the way here from your house?"

"I used escape plan number 2." Hugo said vaguely, causing his three cousins to laugh uncontrollably. It was one of those gut-wrenching laughs that had them in tears holding on to their stomachs in pain. Chance Finnegan and Lysander just looked confused.

"Will someone explain to us mere mortals here what exactly is so funny?" Chance asked.

"When we were about 8 we created escape plans from each of our houses in case there was ever an emergency. Like most of our crazy plans, none of us ever thought we'd actually use them, so this is pretty hilarious."

"Why'd you escape anyway?" Lily asked, "Living with your dad can't possibly be that bad."

"Well he grounded me and I don't want him thinking he has some kind of creepy hold over me. I don't have to do what he says."

"Except he's your dad so technically-"

"So technically, let it go Lily. Let the man live." Lysander said as he covered her mouth and winked at Hugo. She stepped on his foot and pushed him off of her, though she was smiling still. "Come on, it's time for the men to play a little two on two."

"Oh please. You're barely boys, let alone men, and if you ever touch me again Lysander Scamander you'll surely regret it."

"Wow. You sound like your mum." Ly teased.

"Brilliant. Then you know I'm capable of performing hexes like her, too." She said as she grabbed Lucy and walked away giggling.

For the next three hours Hugo and his friends did nothing but play soccer. He and Louis had taught almost everyone they knew because they believed it was a skill everyone should have. They loved soccer more than Quidditch with no contest and had even joked around about starting a team at Hogwarts. By the end of the game, the four boys were beat and joined the girls to rest and eat snacks. He was having a great time, but he was starting to worry that his dad was worrying about him.

"Guys, I should probably head back home."

"You dad is probably pissing himself right now," Lily said worriedly, "I know my dad would be."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go, but I had a good time. Tell your parents I said thanks Louis."

"Will do. Be careful with the broom; if your dad even sees a scratch he'll flip his lid."

"Alright." He said as he picked up said broom and kicked off of the ground. He used the ride back home to really do some thinking. His life was a mess right now. His mom and sister were probably off in parents doing serious damage to his dad's Gringott's card, he was now one of those kids that snuck out of the house, and his dad was just, unfortunately, his dad. Hugo had needed that game of soccer because it really relaxed him, but he didn't know if there was enough relaxation in the world to brace him for what he was about to get from his father when he came home. The fact that he hadn't even called Shell Cottage meant that he was just that pissed or he had taken in one step further and called his mother. He silently placed the broom in the shed and set it to self-clean, because if his dad paid attention to anything it was the cleanliness of his frigging broom. Hugo tip toed around the side of the house but was extremely caught off guard by the fact that his window was shut. This meant that there was only one way he could get into his house, and it was the least favorable option. He crept into the house as silently as possible and was met with the sight of his father sleeping on the couch surrounded by a bunch of snacks and junk food and butter beer. He couldn't believe this.

"Dad!" he screamed as he slammed the front door.

"Wh- what? What's going on?" he said looking extremely disoriented. "Oh, Hugo it's just you. You scared me."

"What on earth have you been doing all day? Just sitting here eating and watching the telly?"

"I don't have to answer to you. What were you doing all day?"

"I went to Louis' to play soccer with the guys."

"You and that ruddy game, I'll never understand it. Had a nice time?" he asked as he sat back on the couch. "Wait, weren't you grounded?" Hugo could not believe this. His dad hadn't even thought about him all day. He could have flooed to Paris and hung out with his mom and sister and his dad wouldn't have noticed.

"I snuck out the window. You didn't even check on me the whole time to see if I was hungry or, I don't know, _alive_?"

"I honestly didn't think you bloody had the balls to sneak out. And aren't you a bit old to be checked up on? Your mom's not here. If you're hungry just get something yourself."

"I don't know. At what age are parents supposed to stop caring about their children? If that age is 12 then yes, I am too old to be checked on."

"Sorry." His dad said sheepishly. "How did you get to Shell Cottage?"

"I- uh, I used your broom."

"_Which_ broom?" his father seethed.

"Your absolute favorite." He said as he walked towards his room.

"Now wait just one damn minute! You've crossed a line now and-"

"I've crossed a line? It's ok that I snuck out, disobeyed you, and flew all the way to the coast, but it's not ok that I took your stupid broom? Are you mental? You should have been worried that something bad could have happened to me, not sleeping the whole time then getting pissed because I used your broom! This is why I can't stand you, and why Rose went with mom, and why mom is going to eventually leave you; you don't care about anyone but yourself."

"You're out of line-"

"No, I think you are. I think that you need a serious reality check or you'll lose everything. Mom forced me to stay here this time but if it ever came down to it and you got divorced, I'd go live with her and so would Rose. We're kids and we need parents, and you just aren't that. You realize that if Lily went missing for a nanosecond, Uncle Harry would have the entire wizarding world out looking for her? I was gone for 10 hours today. Ten! And all you could do was sit here and eat chips and watch movies?" he said as he scoffed, "You're a real contender for father of the year."

"Hugo. I know I'm not good at this father stuff."

"This father _stuff_? Clearly."

"I'm trying! At least, I'm going to try to sort this. With you and your mother, that is. It's just hard to please you guys. Every time I try I fail. I try to buy your mother nice things, take her to the fanciest places, give you everything you want, but no matter what I do it's always wrong."

"You don't have to buy us, you have us! Just because you can afford nice things doesn't mean that equals happiness. All mom wants is for you to listen to her and appreciate her. I flew all the way to the freaking coast today because you kept the shed unlocked again. I've heard her tell you to lock it at least 7,000 times and you never do. You think she says it just to get on your nerves? No. She probably didn't want one of her children going in there and sneaking out. You think she nags you about picking up after yourself because it's never that much stuff, but look around at this place! It's a mess because she's not here to pick up after you. This is what it would be like if you were alone dad. A mess. She cut her hair you know."

"What? When?"

"Right before she left, and when I say cut I mean chopped."

"Why would she do that? Her hair is beautiful."

"Maybe because you never tell her that. She probably thought if she cut it and bought a bunch on new girly clothes that someone would notice. Just listen to her and notice her, that's all. She really doesn't ask for much."

"Alright. And what about you? How can I fix things with you?" Hugo never thought he would hear that question come out of his dad's mouth.

"I guess this is a good start. Talking."

"So you want to talk more?"

"Sure, but when we talk you need to be less judgmental and pushy. That's half the reason I don't like spending time with you. Somehow I always do something wrong or upset you."

"I just want you to do your best-"

"Then let me do _my _best, not _your _best." His dad seemed to be thinking about this, but Hugo thought that he had finally gotten through to him a little. His dad could be thicker than a brick, but deep down it was clear that he cared for his family. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I can do that." His father said as he finally relaxed a little. "How did you get to be smart about all this stuff?"

"Well I am Hermione Weasley's son; I was bound to get some of her brilliance."

"You're lucky to have her as your mom."

"And you're lucky to have her as a wife. If you promise to start treating her better, I promise I'll be less of an arse around you."

"Good deal."

"Alright." Problem solved. It was pretty safe to say that boys got over things fairly easily. "Uhhh, are you cooking dinner again tonight?"

"Would I be a bad father if we just ordered take out?" he asked.

"Not at all." He said, relieved to not have to eat burnt food again.

"Hey I know, how about we do Thai food tonight?"

"Sure that sounds god. Mom always orders from The King and I, the number is on the fridge."

"Well I was thinking we could get something a little more authentic. Like, from a restaurant in Thailand perhaps?"

"Really?" Hugo asked excitedly. "You're serious?"

"Yeah, why don't you pack some clothes and we'll make a little trip out of it? We can go to the beach, relax, you can teach me soccer-"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I think it's time you show me what's so great about it."

"Cool! I'll be ready in 10 minutes! Thanks dad!"

Hugo rushed up the stairs, more excited than he had been about anything involving his dad. They had never spent one on one time together and the fact that he wanted him to teach him to play soccer meant that he was really trying to get to know Hugo. He would finally have some time with his dad, which in the grand scheme of things, is all he'd ever wanted. He knew he had been ready to call Aurors on his dad for being an unfit parent just ten minutes ago, but like he'd said before, he was easy to please.


	25. Wicked Little Girls

"Wicked little girls  
>Kiss the boys and make them cry<br>Raising double trouble every time we pass them by  
>Some might say we're wicked little girls<br>With curls and kisses and pearly whites  
>You better keep an eye on your boy, lock him up tight"<p>

-Esthero

* * *

><p><strong><em>Flashback<em>**

"_Summer's ending."_

"_It is." Dominique agreed, though she wasn't sure why he was pointing out the obvious._

"_I'm really glad you chose to spend time with me instead of going on your family's big trip. We had fun."_

"_Yeah, I wasn't at all interested in their trip. Not many of them were going anyway and the parents are all pissy because we're not as close as we used to be or something. I'm pretty sure they thought stranding us on an island together would remind us of when we were younger, which is definitely not the case. The problem isn't that we don't spend enough time together, it's the complete opposite. Plus, I'd much rather hang out with you." He smiled, but rang his hands uncomfortably and she could tell he was struggling with what he wanted to say next. "Is there a problem?"_

"_No. Well yes, I mean-_ _This is really hard for me to say babe, but I think it's time we had a little talk about a few things."_

"Ok. _What are you-"_

"_Shh, don't say anything; it will just make all of this harder for me." Dom rolled her eyes in annoyance, but let him continue. "I've really enjoyed being with you Dominique. You make me laugh, you're a bloody genius, not to mention sexy as hell- I just don't know if what we have is what I need anymore. I think it's time for me to settle down and find something real. Someone real. Does any of that make any sense?" _

"_Oh, it makes perfect sense to me. Zack Longbottom is looking for a new, fresh girl to occupy his time. Probably a yappy, ambitious little fourth year who thinks she's all that now because she's just grown boobs and can work an eyelash curler."_

"_That's exactly the type I was thinking_. _Ah, you know me so well." he said, dropping his whole sentimental boyfriend act. The two of them really had more of a friendship of convience, rather than a relationship. They were together, until it suited to them to be with someone else. Of course, no matter how many times they split up , they would always end up back together. So Dom really wasn't surprised or upset because of the "break-up"; it was just something they did._

"_Indeed. I know you so well, in fact, that I know you're only breaking up with me right now because you want to try and look for another girl to tickle your fancy."_

"_And rightfully so! You surely haven't been tickling anything of mine."_

"_And I never will." She said as she fixed her make-up, "So who is the poor girl? Do I know her?"_

"_Why? You want to watch us in action?"_

"_Absolutely not. But please, make her at least decent looking this time so it looks likely that you would choose her over me. Unlike last time."_

"_Don't worry; she's more than halfway decent. Inside and out." Dominique could have vomited from the tone in his voice. Zack was not the emotional or caring type. He never did nice things for the girls he toyed with and he certainly never complimented them. He just used them to get what he wasn't getting from Dominique, and the two of them would be back together the next week. "She's amazing."_

"_For fuck's sake Longbottom, you _really_ like this girl."_

"_What makes you figure that?"_

"_Because you're fidgety and nervous looking and you haven't said the words hot, piece, or ass the entire time we've talked about her."_

"_What can I say? I guess I'm getting older, more mature, that whole thing." She wanted to believe he was just kidding, but Zack hadn't cracked a smile or said he was joking for their entire conversation. He was serious about settling down; enough to actually go through the motions of breaking up with Dominique. "So, are you gonna be ok with this? I mean, me trying out this whole relationship thing?"_

"_Well you're practically in love or something; I don't have much of a choice do I?" she asked, "Just know that if it doesn't work out and she breaks your heart, don't come crawling back to me."_

"_Why not?" he asked, "Not that I think she could ever hurt me, but why are you just cutting me off?"_

"_Because you're right. We're older and I want something real. This whole thing, whatever we have, it can't be healthy."_

"_It's also not healthy to pine over one guy, who is taken, all of your life."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_I'm talking about Carter Thomas. You've liked him all these years; don't think that just because you traded in your Firebolt for a pair of heels that you've had some change of heart."_

"_Well what's it to you anyway?"_

"_You're my girlfriend, I don't want to see you get hurt."_

"Tha_nks to you_ _I'm now your ex-girlfriend, and either way, I never said I liked Carter. Even if I did it wouldn't matter; the two of us are too different and he has Hollis anyway-"_

"_Screw that brainless whore, D. If you want him-"_

"_I'm not going to steal him from her Zack. That's so petty and he'd only hate me even more."_

"_Well he's an idiot for not realizing it and he doesn't deserve you." He said as he kissed her on the forehead. Zack was the biggest asshole she'd ever met, but he was also the sweetest guy she'd ever known. They were a lot alike in that way and even though their relationship hadn't been completely conventional, she was going to miss it._

"_You're biased."_

"_Not much. I do think you're amazing and if he didn't see that while you were friends _and _overlooked you for Hollis, he's not worth it."_

"_Thanks. Now go find your new little girlfriend and leave me alone." She said, coming off a little more rude than necessary._

"_Slow down on the rudeness Captain Defensive. You know I love you-"_

"_Yeah yeah yeah, you just want to spread your wings and fall _in_ love and yadda yadda-"_

"_Hey," he said as he bent down and took her face between both of his hands, "I've got a ridiculous amount of love for you Dominique Weasley, and you know that. I'm not bullshitting you. But I also know that you'll never reciprocate those feelings for me because someone else holds that place in your heart. We could stay together forever and be comfortable and content, or, we could stop being bloody cowards and take a risk, and go for the girl that's twelve times too good for us or the guy that got away once when we were 11. I think two sad, emotionally damaged souls such as ourselves deserve to have the chance to find happiness. Don't you?" It was in that moment that Dominique realized she did love Zack, but he was right; she would never be in love with him. What she really wanted to know was who the girl was that had him in his feelings._

"_Fine, you're right."_

"_What? Excuse me? Did I just hear you admit that I am right about something?"_

"_Well, it was bound to happen eventually, right?"_

"_True, I just never thought I'd be alive to see the day or actually hear it for myself."_

"_Shut it." She said as she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Zack. I really do."_

"_I know."_

"_If that little wench, whoever she is, breaks your heart, I'll make her wish she'd never come to Hogwarts."_

"_I know. And I love you for that."_

* * *

><p>Dominique really understood now, more than ever, what Vic used to always say about not realizing what you had until it was gone. These last weeks without Zack had really proven just how much she was alone in this place. It was clear that most of their friends were <em>his<em> friends, anything they did were plans others had made with him, and that she had hardly formed any relationships of her own. She didn't have her family, really. She only sat in the Weasley section about once a week, and usually came over when it was just Lily, Louis and Hugo. Lily was a great listener and had a big mouth, so Dom could keep up on any family gossip easily. She never sat there when James and Fred were there, because they brought Leah, Linden, Hollis, and Carter with them and that fight was just not worth fighting. Molly and Roxy asked too many questions, Al could annoy her by just being in her general vicinity, and she and Rose could hardly breathe the same air without fighting. It was a nightmare, really.

Everyone else in the castle was finishing up their last class right now, and Dominique was just roaming the halls. She didn't skip class often, but she didn't go that often either. There were guys lined up at her door to do her work for her, so she didn't see the point in sitting through boring lessons. Plus, school had just started so they couldn't be doing anything important anyway. She had taken the Marauder's Map from James- who had probably been freaking out for the last 3 years thinking he'd lost it- so she could sneak around without running into any teachers, or fellow prefects, and she was sure if she saw Lex walking around she could talk him out of giving her detention. Or blackmail him out of it. Either way, she had ways of not getting in trouble or getting out of trouble if necessary. She had planned on continuing her leisurely walk, but almost stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a few abnormal noises coming from a broom closet nearby. She would have ignored it, but any chance for a little blackmail could go a long way in this world. She tiptoed by the door and leaned in as closely as possible.

"What was that?" the male voice asked. Whoever he was with didn't answer, but simply began kissing him again in a rather sloppy sounding way if Dom said so herself. "I heard footsteps, I think someone's outside the door."

"Will you shut your bloody mouth?" a girl whispered. "Just kiss me."

"What if we get caught?"

"Well you're a bloody Slytherin aren't you? I assume you'll just slither your way out of it." The two began kissing again and Dom couldn't believe her timing. You just couldn't write this stuff. Imagine if she'd gone to class today? She would have missed this!

"I don't know, maybe we should have picked a better spot."

"Ugh, whatever Creswell. You know I only get a little time without my boyfriend hanging around and you go and ruin it."

"I'm sorry! Please-"

"Shut it, Nate. Begging doesn't suit you." Creswell? Someone was willingly sneaking around with an idiot like Nate Creswell? What a joke! Overwhelmed by the awkwardness of this situation, Dom lost her footing and her knee hit the door. She had to dig deep to find her old Quidditch speed and race across the hall before the students crawled out of their little mating hole. She heard the retreating footsteps and peeked out from behind the wall just in time to see exactly who Nate Creswell's secret lover was. She would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked, and luckily the two were far enough away to not hear her gasp. "This won't happen again."

"Next time we'll be more careful-"

"No, this will never happen between the two of us ever again. If I wanted to spend a few seconds with a whiny asshole I'd just hookup with my ruddy boyfriend. If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you."

"Hollis, wait-" the poor sad sack couldn't even finish his cries before she swatted his hand away and speed walked toward the Common Room. She had just witnessed Hollis cheating on Carter and had proof that it had happened more than once. What a sneaky, deranged, ungrateful little bitch! She had quite literally snatched Carter away just so she could cheat on him with a big, ugly buffoon like Nathaniel Creswell? She was mental! Dom battled with whether or not she should tell Carter. If she did, the chances of him believing her were slim to none, but bigger than the chance that he would even speak to her. Getting him alone would be impossible and that would just create more problems for Dominique. Maybe she would just let everything play out however it was supposed to. The truth always came out in time right?

She felt pretty bad for Carter. He was under the impression that Hollis was some sort of angel sent to him directly from the heavens above, when really she was a demon in disguise that fed on the misfortune and naivety of others. Just as Dom had suspected from day one. It was sad, but if he wasn't smart enough to realize that for himself, then that wasn't Dom's problem. She continued through the halls and tried to blend in with the students that had just gotten out of class. People were running around, meeting up with boyfriends or girlfriends, and complaining about the rest of their classes or whatever class they had just come from. The nostalgia and familiarity of it all made Dom wish she could just get out of here.

She couldn't wait to graduate in two years and book it to America like Teddy had. The only difference was that she didn't plan on ever coming back. She used to think it would bring her family pain if she left, but it was obvious that they could care less about her whereabouts. Luckily she turned 18 before she graduated so she would have full access to all of the money she had in Gringott's, and could get it all transferred to a non-magical acount. She would simply graduate, apparate to America, snap her wand, and never look back. She didn't need magic, or notoriety, or family, or anything but herself. She would leave farewell letters for Vic and Teddy, but that was it; they were the only ones that would understand. She was all she could really count on and that would never change.

"Weasley!" someone screamed, right as she was about to give the Fat Lady the password, "Front and center!"

"Ugh, what is it now, Alvarez? And what have I told you about how lame your little 'I'm in charge' lingo is?"

"You missed the last prefect meeting without giving me 24 hour notice. That's unacceptable."

"Right. I meant to tell you I wasn't going to yesterday's meeting because I had absolutely no interest in being there. Happy?"

"Not in the least. You need to do better, kid. You're missing meetings, skipping classes, setting a horrible example-"

"Well, you can blame yourself for that. I think it's safe to say I was a pretty awful choice for a prefect from the beginning. I've come to terms with it and you should too." Seriously, who's idea had that been? She new the old prefects could make requests, but she didn't think they held much substance in the final decisions.

"Roxy thought giving you some responsibility would help straighten you out and I agreed, so I requested you personally."

"And now I'm your problem, not hers, so you can thank Roxy for that instead of berating me." She was going to just walk away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get your attention! As crazy as it sounds, I think of you as a little sister." Dom huffed and rolled her eyes because she really hated how good of a person Lex was. He was always trying to help her for reasons she did not understand. He had become a surrogate Weasley of sorts, and they all really respected him. Even James. It was really hard to not at least try and do things for him because he did so much for others.

"I have enough siblings, thanks."

"I don't care. I said I _think _of you as a sister- as in hypothetically. How many hypothetical siblings do you have?" She didn't even dictate that with a response. "Exactly. So whether you like it or not I'm looking out for you, and I want to see you succeed and do well because I know you can. You've been slacking off, but it's early yet. You can turn it all around by putting in some extra hours and volunteering for some events."

"It's not volunteering if you're forcing me."

"Dominique…" he said in a warning tone. She sighed, clearly she wasn't going to get anywhere with this argument. He was just so bloody...respectable.

"Fine, what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to help us out with our movie night at the end of the year."

"At the end of the year? And you're asking me about it now, why?"

"Because it's going to take a lot of work and planning to pull off a muggle movie night."

"Muggle movie night?" That just sounded like loads and loads of hard work. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, McGonogall is letting us have a movie night on the grounds as long as we use magic along with muggle methods to set it all up." That sounded like a hell of a lot more work than she was looking forward to ever doing in such a short period of time.

"Yeah. Thanks but no thanks, I'm busy that day."

"I didn't even tell you what day it was."

"Let's just assume that I'll be busy every day for the rest of this year. So no, I won't be helping." He finally gave up and said the password quickly, letting them enter. When they got inside he walked straight to the Weasley Section, probably to tell on her to Roxy for not cooperating with him. She was about to just call it a night when someone ran into her and caused her to drop her bag.

"I would say watch where you're going but with an ass like that it's probably hard to control yourself." Hollis was nothing if not consistent with her insults. She had always tried to call Dom fat. Every time they spoke.

"I don't know what they taught you in America, but here, it's normal for a 16 year old girl to look like a 16 year old girl. Don't try to deflect your issues with your body on me; it's not my fault you're shaped like a praying mantis."

"Take that back!"

"You know what? I don't think I will." She said, noting that Hollis looked completely embarrassed. The two of them hadn't had it out in years; Dom was not the same person she was when they used to be "friends" had Hollis had picked the wrong day to mess with her. "Aww, has Hollis run out of useless insults?"

"You're a rotten whore."

"Ohhh, good one!" Dom said with a laugh, causing others watching to laugh as well.

"It's true! Why do you think Carter chose me over you in the first place?"

"Why don't you tell me, Hollis? I'm sure we'd all get a laugh out of your warped version of the story."

"Well it doesn't matter, because no matter what you do, or say, or how much make-up you put on in the morning, I am and will always be better than you in every aspect."

"Every aspect? Now I'm certain that you're mental. Why don't you just take your shitty ideaology and go fuck yourself."

"Aww, that sounds like a single girl problem to me. I've got Carter for that, remember?"

"Word on the street is that Carter's not the only one you've got for that." Hollis practically lunged at Dom, but she stood her ground. She wasn't afraid of this scrawny little twit.

"Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter. Just know that I know, and if you ever come near me again I will ruin you." Out of nowhere, Hollis backed up a few steps and put a pathetic look on her face. Dom was confused, but the next voice she heard cleared everything up.

"What's going on here?" Carter screamed. Dom could only roll her eyes. It was funny how history seemed to repeat itself. "Hollis? Dominique?"

"Nothing's going on. Right Holls?" The pathetic girl marched up to Carter and kissed him rather fiercely before winking at Dominique.

"Right, nothing at all. She was just leaving. Right Dom?"

"Right." She shot Carter a fake smile and walked over to the Weasley Section. That was the last and final straw. If Hollis wanted to play dirty, Dom would play. "Alvarez, a word?"

"Sure, what's up? Everything ok with Hollis?"

"It certainly is. About your little movie night; do you still need volunteers?"

"Yeah, of course. You in?"

"Definitely. Sign me up."

"Why the sudden interest?"

"I really love movies. I forgot how completely revealing they can be." Dom was going to help with the movie night alright. She was going to use one school wide event to expose Hollis for who she really was.

* * *

><p><strong><em>There was a little mix up with this and the previous chapter. This was supposed to come after Hugo's so if you saw that the story was updated and were brought to this chapter and already read it, just go to the previous chapter to get the stuff for this week. Confusing I know, I'm and idiot.<em>**

**_Quick update on life and such: School started last Monday, Hurricane Isaac started doing his thing yesterday, classes have been cancelled, chaos has ensued- so really I wanted to get another chapter out in case (when) we lose power from the storm. Hope you guys enjoyed it!_**

**_Quick update on the ages:_**

**Not in Hogwarts  
><strong>Gideon Weasley- 27; Fred Weasley & Angelina Johnson  
>Teddy Lupin- 21; Remus Lupin &amp; Nymphadora Tonks<br>Victoire Lupin- 19; Bill Weasley & Fleur Delacour  
>Chase Finnegan- 18; Seamus Finnegan &amp; Lavendar Brown<br>Madison Harrington (Gryffindor) 17- I will explain this later  
>Catalena Lupin- 4 months; Victoire Weasley &amp; Teddy Lupin<br>**  
>7th years<strong>  
>Molly Weasley (Gryffindor) 17; Percy Weasley &amp; Audrey Carrizales<br>Carson Bennett (Ravenclaw)17  
>Lex Alvarez (Gryffindor)17<br>Grayson Goyle (Slytherin) 17

**6****th**** years**  
>Roxanne Weasley (Gryffindor) 16; George Weasley &amp; Angelina Johnson<p>

**5th years**  
>James Potter -15; Harry Potter &amp; Ginny Weasley<br>Dominique Weasley-15; Bill Weasley & Fleur Delacour  
>Fred Weasley -15; George Weasley &amp; Angelina Johnson<br>Carter Thomas- 15; Dean Thomas & Parvati Patil  
>Linden "Love" Nott-14; Theodore Nott &amp; Daphne Greengrass<br>Zack Longbottom-15; Neville Longbottom & Hannah Abbott  
>Hollis Yates-14<p>

**4th years**  
>Albus Potter -14; Harry Potter &amp; Ginny Weasley<br>Rose Weasley-14; Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger  
>Scorpius Malfoy-14; Draco Malfoy &amp; Astoria Geengrass<br>Reid Longbottom- 14; Hannah Abbott & Neville Longbottom

**2nd years**  
>Louis Weasley-12; Bill Weasley &amp; Fleur Delacour<br>Hugo Weasley-12; Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger  
>Lily Potter-12; Harry Potter &amp; Ginny Weasley<br>Lucy Weasley-12; Percy Weasley & Audrey Carrizales  
>Chance Finnegan- 12; Seamus Finnegan &amp; Lavendar Brown<br>Lorcan & Lysander Scamander-12; Rolf Scamander & Luna Lovegood

**_-Jazz_**


	26. Feelings Show

"I'm sorry it's taking me so long to find out what I'm feeling  
>I wonder if it will come to me<br>Maybe not, maybe not, because'

Love is crazy pretty baby take it real slow  
>My feelings show all you have to do is never ever let go<br>My feelings show and I want you to know  
>My feelings show"<p>

-Colbie Callait

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Rose wondered, as she stood on the tips of her toes in the library, how she could be the spawn of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley and not be just a bit taller. She felt like through evolution she should have been born with longer legs and arms so she could reach books higher on shelves. Both her maternal grandmother and her mother had bookshelves that reached their ceilings, so she was sure they'd reached for a book or two in their day. She was literally grazing the spine of the book she wanted when it floated out of its place on the shelf and hovered near her ear._

"_I almost had it Scor- oh!" she said as she turned around, not expecting to see Zack Longbottom standing there. "Uh, thanks."_

"_You know you're a witch right? It comes in handy when you need things you can't reach." She wasn't sure why he was talking to her, especially since they had never really said more than hello to each other before this moment._

"_What if I wasn't a witch and needed that exact book? Then I'd have to get it myself, no matter how high up it is."_

_"Except for the fact that if you weren't a witch, you wouldn't be here trying to reach that particular book in the first place."_

_"Ok. What if we were in a parallel universe where non-magical people went to this school?"_

_"I suppose that's true, if all that other stuff happened. However,__ you _are_ a witch, so it wouldn't matter if non-magical people went here."_

"_Ok that wasn't the best example,__ but my mother always says that we should do things the muggle way every once and a while because it will make us appreciate our magic more. Makes sense, right?"_

"_I guess you're right; it does." She nodded her head and took a seat at the table with the book. Of course she was right. She had expected Zack to walk away and go taunt another poor soul, but he just stood there staring at Rose like she was the most intruiging thing on the planet. She hoped that if she just ignored him he would go away, so she just kept reading. He didn't even sit at the table or make conversation, he just leaned against the bookshelf across from her and stared. She wasn't going to say anything; she'd ignored Hugo for days at a time and she could block out all things other than this book if she really wanted to. She was just about to turn another page when she felt a foot cover hers. "Are you always this twitchy when you read? Your foot was tapping so hard I thought it was going to fall off."_

"_I didn't even notice I was doing it. Could you move your foot?" she asked._

"_Sorry." He said as he moved his foot and leaned back against the bookcase. She began reading again, but was interrupted by an annoying laugh._

"_Is there a problem Mr. Longbottom?"_

"_None at all Miss Weasley. Just wondering how one girl can focus so hard on one book. You'd think the secret to life was hidden in there somewhere."_

"_I don't know why you came over here Zack Longbottom," she said sadly, "but if you just want to mock me I'm going to inform you now that you can leave."_

"_Oh no, Rose, I didn't mean to upset you-" he trailed off as she burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, "What's so funny?"_

"_You! I can't believe you fell for that sad girl act."_

"_I guess I'm just a sucker for a pretty face." That got her to stop laughing. Surely he didn't think that she was pretty when he had been connected to girls like Lana Jordan, Cornelia Belby, Erin McCormack and most notoriously, her cousin Dominique. Something was up._

"_Why are you here Longbottom?"_

"_I'll tell you that soon Weasley, but first I think that you're going to have to start calling me by my first name if we're going to be friends."_

"_What makes you think I want to be friends with you? I think I have plenty already."_

"_Who, Scorpius? One friend is not plenty."_

"_What about Albus?"_

"_He's your cousin, that doesn't count. Being friends with me can't be that bad."_

"_Not for you, but it could potentially be awful for me." This statement made him raise a curious eyebrow and take a seat across from her._

"_How so?"_

"_Because! I'm not interested in being another one of your friends with benefits. I have a reputation to uphold."_

"_Ah, I see. But this is different." Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow unconvinced._

"_How so?"_

"_Well mostly because I actually want to be your friend, in the most platonic sense of the term. I certainly didn't want that with anyone else- except Dominique. With you, it's just different. You're smart, graceful, mysterious; I could definitely learn a thing or two from you."_

"_As flattering and charming as all that sounds I just don't believe that's all you want from me. Since our parents were good friends I've known you since I was little, yet we've never really spoken-"_

"_Unless you count now-"_

"_I don't. Also there's the fact that you had a huge fallout with James that no one understands because the two of you just won't tell anyone what happened between you. That's pretty suspicious. I've asked James about it and he refuses to tell me."_

"_You asked James about me?" he asked cockily. "What'd he say happened?"_

"_He said to ask you myself, but he also told me to never go near you, so I wasn't exactly sure which to do and I just dropped it. Now I shouldn't even have to mention the third reason I'm questioning your motives, but-"_

"_Dominique." _

"_Exactly. She's…well she's Dominique. The two of us don't get along at all, but I'm sure you knew that. You two mysteriously "break up" over the summer and two months later you're talking to me and asking me to be your friend? It just doesn't make sense." She said nervously. Honestly at this point she didn't know if she was trying to convince Zack or herself._

"_Well one; I definitely count this conversation as us speaking. I've learned more about you in these 10 minutes than I ever did when we were kids. Two; we never talked because you were younger and always playing with Al or the younger kids. We were always polite though, so I think that counts for something. Three; what happened with James and I has nothing to do with anyone but James and I. That's all I have to say about that for now. Lastly; Dominique will always be a close friend to me but we've decided that it's best to end things for good."_

"_I don't really know how to say this without sounding stupid-"_

"_I don't think it's possible for you to sound stupid no matter what you say." She couldn't help but smile a bit at the compliment, but it faded quickly when she remembered what she was about to ask._

"_Well I'm just wondering, and it may not be any of my business, but you guys aren't going to be, um you know…_together _anymore?"_

"_No, she and I broke up."_

"_No, I mean like _together _together. You know, physically." Now it was his time to smile and she felt extremely embarrassed._

"_You mean sex?" he asked bluntly, causing her to go red in the face. "No. Dom and I are completely over."_

"_Oh. And are you expecting um…_that _from me?"_

"_What? Sex?" he asked again, as if he was aiming to make her uncomfortable. "No Rose, I'm not trying to seduce you, or mess you around, or take advantage of you in any way. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to start a new chapter in my life or something. Honestly I just want to be your friend because I like you, I think you're interesting."_

_She just wasn't sure what to make of any of this. People didn't generally _like_ her, so she felt skeptical at those words. Then again, he had been a perfect gentleman the entire time they had talked. Aside from interrupting her studying, he hadn't tried to do anything unspeakable and she really didn't have many other friends. She had never even introduced herself properly to anyone else at the school that wasn't family, and she rarely slept in her own room enough to get to know her roommates. She had spent many, very platonic, nights sleeping in Scorpius' bed which was next to Albus' so the three of them were quite literally always together. Not many people knew about that , but she didn't really tell many people since that was probably not a normal thing. Most people wouldn't understand it, so she never brought it up; not that she really had anyone to tell._

"_Ok, I've probably freaked you out and I can see you processing in your head, and you're probably thinking about something that has nothing to do with anything I said so I'm going to start over." He said very fast but successfully pulling her from her erratic thinking. "Rose, I need a tutor."_

"_A tutor? For what?"_

"_Not much. Just Charms, DADA, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes, Potions, Divination, Herbology-"_

"_Herbology? But your dad is the Herbology professor."_

"_And he bloody puts me to sleep, that one does. Every time. So will you help me?"_

"_Fine, I'll help you. We can meet here at this time every Sunday."_

"_What? We're going to be studying _every_ Sunday?"_

"_You should be studying almost every _day_. Then you'd know the material and you wouldn't have to cram for exams, just review." He looked seriously taken aback by this statement; maybe he really did need a tutor._

"_You see? No one has ever told me that before. I need your help."_

"_Then meet me here on Sundays."_

"_Sundays it is then."_

"_To study?"_

"_To study."_

* * *

><p><strong>Three weeks later...<strong>

"I don't want to study anymore." Zack whined for the millionth time. He could be such a child sometimes.

"For the love of Merlin, don't be such a big baby. We've only done one subject."

"And it was my least favorite. We shouldn't start with Ancient Runes because it wears me out, and then I just want to sleep all day. Can we take a break?" he said as he made puppy dog eyes at her. There was no use in even fighting this fight because it was the same fight they'd had every Sunday so far. She closed her book and let out a frustrating sigh.

"A short break. That's it."

"Awesome." He said as he pulled a few licorice wands out of his bag and put his feet up on the table. He reminder her of Hugo so much at times that it scared her. "Why are you smiling at me like that weirdo?"

"Because you remind me of Hugo with your complaining, and candy and bad posture. It's funny."

"I don't see it. Hugo's a good kid, don't get me wrong, but he's nowhere near as suave and coy as me. Probably never will be."

"That's probably true. He's a real sweetheart, though."

"And you're saying I'm not?"

"No. With me, you're very sweet and generally well mannered. It's shocking actually; I always thought you were an annoying, cocky, big talking asshole."

"Ouch, shots fired." he said pretending to be hurt. Then he broke out into a wide grin that didn't seem to fit his face. "You just called me an asshole."

"It can't possibly be the first time anyone's called you that, and if you'd listened I actually said I _thought_ you were an asshole. Past tense. You've proved me wrong these last few weeks so congratulations." She could see him puffing up at the compliment but she refrained from taking it back as she heard the sound of two familiar voices entering the library. "Oh no! Hide me!"

"From what?" he asked as she gathered her things and ducked under the table. She didn't have time to answer because two pairs of feet came into sight. "Scorpius! Albus! What can I do for you boys?"

"Why are you sitting at Rose's table?" Al asked. Rose could see the sneer of her cousin's face. No one knew what happened between Zack and James, but Al was definitely Team James.

"I had no clue that Rose bought this table and officially made it hers. I'm going to have to get one of these for myself so I can always have a place to nap." He joked.

"You know what I meant, she always sits here. Have you seen her?"

"Not recently. She was in here studying with a tall, older, kind of fit bloke earlier, but she just disappeared."

"Well if you see her, tell her Scorpius and I are looking for her. We'll be in the Common Room."

"Will do. Nice chat." Rose waited a few moments before peeking out from the table. "Your friends are gone Houdini, you can come back up now." She climbed back into her seat with as much dignity as she could muster, but couldn't ignore the look of hurt on Zack's face.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Are you ashamed to be seen with me Rose? I mean I'd sort of understand if you were, but I thought we had made some progress."

"I'm not ashamed of you, Zack. I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about us hanging out at first, but I like it."

"Well why did you disappear so fast when Al and Scorpius came over? I've literally never seen ou move so fast."

"I don't know, I guess I just still haven't told them about these extremely unsuccessful tutoring sessions with you. They aren't used to seeing us together and I'm not sure they'd take it well without previous explanation."

"Are they not used to seeing me with you or are they just not used to you not being with them? I'd bet you my little sister it's the latter."

"What? No, it's not that."

"So you don't think it would drive Scorpius nuts that we're hanging out? Because face it, we spend more time talking and hanging out on Sundays than studying."

"That's where you're wrong; Scorpius and I are just-"

"Friends? Yeah yeah, I've heard it all before. Why don't the two of you just call a spade a spade and bloody admit you fancy each other? It would save all of us the trouble of watching you two deny your very obvious feelings for each other. I mean, you do fancy him don't you?" That was a great question. She wasn't used to people asking if she fancied him; they always asked if she and Scor fancied each other, and she could never really answer confidently because she had no clue if they felt the same about each other. She definitely fancied him, but he was so hot and cold with her that she had really given up on trying to figure it all out. "Well, do you fancy Scorpius Malfoy?"

"I do."

"But-"

"But he more than likely does not feel the same. I mean we've kissed -like twice-, we've been to Hogsmead together once for real, and we've been best friends forever, but I honestly cannot tell whether or not he fancies me back and I definitely don't have the balls to ask him out right. Is that pathetic or what?"

"It's not pathetic, Rose. Lots of people are afraid to make that step from friend to more than friends."

"I have a big enough problem making to the friends level, I can't even think about being more yet. Plus, it's _me _we're talking about here. It's not like I have people tripping over themselves to get to me or anything. You practically had to haggle with me for me to start talking to you. I'm so weird."

"I think you're adorable."

"And I think 14 is a little to old to be adorable." she said, thanking the stars that she wasn't blushing. Even though she didn't too much like being called adorable, it was still a compliment from a cute boy, and even she could appreciate that.

"You're good Rose Weasley." he said, as he shook his head from side to side.

"What do you mean?"

"You're like a master subject changer and you almost had me fooled, but let's get back on track. Scorpius; why can't you take that step from friends to a little something more?" she narrowed her eyes at him for figuring out her plan, but figured it couldn't hurt to just tell him. He had proven to be a god listener, and she needed a knew perspective.

"i feel like for me and Scor it's much more than just changing our relationship status from friends to more. I just- you've heard the things people say about us, that we were meant to be and stuff right? It can be a lot of pressure. Especially when your parents want you to do one thing, your peers are expecting you to do another, and it involves a really solid friendship. The relationship has loads of complications before it even starts, and I think that's what Scorpius is most afraid of, you know? That, and he seems to believe he is some sort of bad influence over me and even being friends with him is ruining the "goodness of my name." It's all so stupid, but really sweet at the same time and I just don't know what to do. And it's not all him, I feel hot and cold about it too. Somedays I think I could marry him and the next, I want him to just leave me alone. Granted, the hot usually outwieghs the cold, but I feel like my decision should be more solid at this point. Also there's the added fact that it's me, and I'm sure I'm not the girlfriend type or anything of that sort. Ugh, it's all so much, you just don't understand." She rambled. Because of her lack of friends she had mostly kept all those thoughts to herself and it felt good to verbalize them.

"Wow, that is a lot."

"Tell me about it." She said as she grabbed a licorice wand from his stack. "What about you?"

"I don't know, what about me?"

"Who do you fancy right now? Because I know a handsome, popular guy like you won't be staying single for long with all the girls lined up to date a 'tall, older, kind of fit' bloke like you."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes I want to know, I just gave you my whole life story so I think that gets me one little secret in return. So come on, who is she? I swear I won't tell her." He took his feet off of the table and leaned in as if he was about to tell her the deepest of secrets.

"You." He said clearly, making her lips curl up on the sides. Surely he hadn't heard her question correctly.

"Me, what?"

"You're the girl that I fancy." He wasn't smirking, or laughing, or wearing his normal cocky expression. He was looking at her with the most genuine expression she'd ever seen, and she knew he wasn't kidding. How on earth could he fancy her? Why would he? She began visibly hyperventilating at his confession, but he was cool as a cucumber. "Don't worry Rose, I'm not an idiot and I'm not going to pursue you; you just told me you fancy Scorpius Malfoy, and I know you don't like me. So to respond to your previous accusation, I do understand what it's like to like someone that doesn't like you back. In all fairness to you though, this all did come out of nowhere so wasn't expecting you to really like me back or anything. I just figure, since you're so unsure about Scorpius, that it's best for me tell you and hopefully prove that it's not that hard to tell someone how you feee."

"Zack, I- I honestly don't know what to say. I mean, you could have _anybody_ and-"

"That's hardly true. I can't have you can I? And the way that you regard yourself is utterly ridiculous. I don't know what little piece of shit tosser told you otherwise, but you are very attractive, loyal, honest, and intriguing; which are qualities any guy would love in a girlfriend." She let her eyes fall, completely embarrassed and at a loss for words. "Are you ok?"

"Yes. I've just never had someone be so honest and forward with me. I'm flattered, really, but it's a bit overwhelming."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not that I don't find myself to be decent looking, I just know I might never be that kind of head-turning gorgeous like Molly, Roxy and Dominique. Even Lily catches everyone's eye and she's barely thirteen."

"You've got to stop that. It's probably stressful enough being in your family, comparing yourself to them all the time will surely drive you mad someday. You may never be like them, but they will also never be like you and _that_ is what I like about you Rose Weasley. You are truly one of a kind." At this point Rose was surprised that she had not burst into a fit of tears. He was really sweet, and way more mature than he like to let on.

"Thank you. I really mean it. But-"

"Rose. I'm not in love with you, or asking for you to be my girlfriend or anything, nor have I been secretly admiring for years and years. I just saw you in the library one day and decided to say hello and started a conversation. We've had multiple conversations since then, each just as interesting as the last, and I like it. That's all. No pressure, no need to over-process it; we can just be friends and I'll be ok with that. I just want to earn you trust."

"That's all?" she asked, a little disappointed.

"That's all." He said with that same smirk. She had no idea what he could possibly find amusing about this situation.

"Well, did you still want to meet up on Sunday's?" she asked shyly. They had actually become quite routine for her and she enjoyed the time away from the boys.

"To study or to talk?"

"Both." She answered, sporting a smirk of her own. "Because I enjoying talking with you, but you really do suck at Ancient Runes."

"It makes no sense! When I go to that class it's like the teacher's speaking a different language."

"That's probably because the class is mostly deciphering runic script, which is basically a written, symbolic language." He looked like he had never heard any of those words before and she couldn't help but shake her head at him "Yeah, studying will definitely be happening."

"That's probably a good idea. And Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Telling you how I felt, or at least knowing that you know, makes me feel a hell of a whole lot better. You should tell Scorpius how you feel and let him help you decipher what's going on in that brain of yours."

"I've tried-"

"Try again. Aren't Weasley's all about not giving up and being brave and stuff? You can do it." He said reassuringly. "Well I'm going to go find my sister, I'm sure she's somewhere doing something she isn't supposed to be."

"That's very true. I'll see you Sunday."

"See you." As he walked away Rose let out a huge breath. Something inside of her just couldn't let her believe that Zack Longbottom fancied her. She had never considered herself to be the kind of girl that guys fancied for some reason. She just could not believe that any of that had just happened. He liked her and had absolutely no expectations of her. It's just not what one would expect from Hogwarts' playboy. Part of her believed he just wanted a physical relationship, but she had absolutely no experience and she wasn't sexy in the least bit. She was just…Rose. She did commend him on being able to admit that he liked her though; whether he genuinely meant it or not, he had done in 3 weeks what she couldn't do with Scorpius in over 3 years. He also had a really good point. Maybe she would finally talk to Scorpius so they could get things settled once and for all.

As much as Zack had practically sworn he wasn't expecting her to consider him just yet, she couldn't just forget anything that happened today. She still liked Scorpius, but she could see herself liking Zack as well, who would probably consider this over-processing. Rose took a deep breath to clear her mind of all inner-conflictions. First she needed to talk to Scorpius, because that conversation was way overdue. She would just have to figure things out with Zack later.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hey y'all! Looks like Rose has a decision to make! Let me know what you think!<strong>_

_**-Jazz**_


	27. Timing Is Everything

"You can call it fate  
>Or destiny<br>Sometimes it really seems like its a mystery  
>Cause you can be hurt by love<br>Or healed by the same  
>Timing is everything"<p>

-Garrett Hedlund

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Scorpius had no idea how he ended up here. One minute he was on the beach with his parents, and the next, he was sitting in a dark room, trying to gain his bearings. He heard footsteps circling around him, and could now make out a large "M" insignia on a tapestry hanging from the wall and knew exactly where he was._

"_Grandfather, what am I doing here? Where are my parents?"_

"_The better question Scorpius, is what are you and your parents doing frolicking around the beach like a bunch of common idiots?!" he spat. Scorpius had never understood his Grandfather's hate for all things in life. He literally hated anything that Scorpius did. He was mad. "Have you no semblance of pride in yourself and your history?"_

"_What history?" he asked, earning himself a slap across the face._

"_What history?" Lucius seethed, "Your family history boy. The legacy of the Malfoy name and all that you stand for." Scorpius didn't have a clue what his grandfather was talking about. His parents had never even mentioned any family history; his dad barely liked for them to go out in public, let alone did he tell Scorpius about any legacy that the Malfoy's had. Scorpius had only met his grandfather twice, but neither of those times had been particularly pleasant and he had a feeling that any legacy this man believed in was not one that Scorpius would be proud of. He had been told by his mother not to judge people without getting to know them, but he could say without a doubt that he hated his grandfather. His dad always taught him to be strong and to fight for what he believed in. Scorpius was good at that, except for when it came to Lucius Malfoy._

_"Don't keep apologizing, Scorpius. You're so weak. Have your parents just let you grow up without knowing who you are?"_

_"I don't know, but I'm sure they're worried about me. If I could just owl them-"_

_"Your parents will bbe fine. You can go back to them after you answer a few questions for me."_

"_I- I don't know about any legacy, sir." This time his grandfather struck his in the shoulder with his cane, and Scorpius couldn't help but cry out in pain. "Please! I don't know what you're talking about! I just-"_

"_Silence!" he screamed. "You are a disgrace. How old are you boy?"_

"_I'm- I'm n-nine, sir." His grandfather struck him in the head this time. He honestly had no idea what he had done wrong, or why his grandfather would want to hurt him. Scorpius had heard stories of kids' grandparents that he met at the park. They were supposed to be sweet, and loving people that fed you a lot and snuck you sweets; not evil and crazy lunatics that hurt you and spoke nonsense all of the time. He held on to the back of Scorpius' neck with a pretty strong grip for an old man, and spoke with an eerily calm tone._

"_You will no longer spend your days mucking about with your father and your dimwitted mother. I want you to take lessons from me along with that loud mouthed cousin of yours Linden, about manners, etiquette, and your family history. I have great plans for the two of you, Scorpius. Do you accept my proposal?" he asked._

"_Do I have a choice?"_

"_You're learning already. One more thing." He said as he began rummaging through a drawer in his desk. He walked over to him holding something shiny in his hands, and kneeled down to show it to Scorpius. "This ring used to belong to your great grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy and I want you to have it. You must never take this ring off, Scorpius. It is a part of who you are, and a reminder of who you will always be." Scorpius took the ring carefully, halfway convinced that it would poison him and kill him. Scorpius had no idea what his family had done, but he was pretty sure it wasn't anything good._

* * *

><p>Scorpius was being an idiot and he knew it. He knew that Rose liked him, and he could see himself really falling for her. It would take him longer to list the reasons he should ask her out than to list the reasons he shouldn't. There was just something holding him back and he wished there wasn't, because he could see that she was getting frustrated with him. There was just more to it than either of them would ever understand. Scorpius didn't even understand half of the things he did and because of it he was hurting his friend. He had to admit though, that she had been acting strange herself lately. She was a lot more jumpy around him, when she was ever around him. She would sneak off of on Sundays to do Merlin knows what, and when she did return she seemed really giddy and weird. She could be a little more spacey than usual, and he could have sworn he saw a piece of parchment sticking out of her notebook with Zack Longbottom's name on it. There was absolutely no way she had ever hung out with Zack Longbottom, so clearly he must just be losing his mind.<p>

He looked over to Rose and Al, who were in the middle of an animated conversation about something crazy that had happened over their summer holiday. Rose was currently puffing out her cheeks and pretending to be marching around. According to Al, Rose's imitation of the groundskeeper at the hotel they stayed in was insanely funny, and the two of them burst into uncontrollable laughter every time she really got into her impersonation. Rose was laughing so hard that her red, seemingly never ending curls were bouncing up and down and there were tears rolling down her cheeks. For some reason he had the urge to reach out and wipe the tears away. Her skin was so fair that it looked like porcelain, and the freckles that dusted her nose had always reminded him of cinnamon. She was a very pretty girl, and she had a smile that was out of this world when she let her guard down. Al must have just relayed another particularly funny part of the story, because Rose looked over to Scorpius and touched his knee, holding onto it to brace herself against the laughter. He couldn't help but laugh along, until he felt a searing pain hit him in his right palm.

"Oh no!" he shouted before jumping out of his chair, successfully startling Rose and Al. He had his hand behind his back, and it felt like it was going to fall off.

"What's wrong?" she asked quickly. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no, I just forgot about a thing I left in my room. Excuse me." He raced up the stairs to his room and could already barely feel his hand, it was hurting so badly. This hadn't happened in over three years, and he had no idea why it was happening now. All Scorpius could do was stand completely still as the pain crept up his arm and toward his head. It had been a long time since he'd had one this bad, and he was just lucky that he had gotten out of the Common Room before it got to this point. It took everything in him not to scream as he started seeing visions of his grandfather flash behind his eyes. He was trying to block out the pictures, but the pain had never been this strong before. He could see his grandfather hitting his dad when he was younger, and forcing him to do terrible things. He could see his mother being tortured by Lucius, and he knew it was fake, but he also knew that if he didn't respond to one of his grandfather's letters soon, it could just as easily be real.

"Scorpius, don't let him get into your head." He heard a voice soothe. "He's just trying to scare you and lure you to him, but you're stronger than he is." He felt a hand rubbing methodic circles on his back, and the familiarity was enough to dull the pain that had crept towards the bridge of his nose. They had done this so many times when they were younger, he should have known she would find him.

"How'd you find me? I didn't even see you in the Common Room?"

"I walked in when you jumped up from your chair and I could tell by the look in your eyes that you were having one of your moments." Linden was the only other person in the family that really understood all that Scorpius went through. Their mothers were sisters, and his mom said he and Linden shared a similar bond to them. They couldn't be a part for months, but could always feel each other. It was weird, but comforting knowing she was there. The two of them had practically been through hell together. They had been told the stories of the Malfoy "legacy" together, abused and tortured together, and both were practically cast off the Malfoy family tree for their actions. Both of them had visibly disagreed with Lucius' ideas, and separated themselves from the family in any way they could. Linden told him that the Slytherin Common Room had many ways for former Slytherin's to contact you, so he had followed in her footsteps and asked to be put in any other house. They both understood right from wrong, and had befriended the Weasley's and Potter's. They had each other's backs, and they'd always be there for each other. "Rose wanted to follow you but I told her it was better if I went. I hope that's ok."

"No that's fine, I don't want her to know about this. She's already scared shitless of Grandfather, I don't want her to worry." She gasped quickly and he felt her slide his Malfoy ring off of his finger.

"Why are you still wearing that ring, Scorpius? That thing is cursed! That's how's he gets to you!" He couldn't believe he'd never thought of that before, "Please get rid of that."

"Sorry, I didn't even really notice I still wore it." He said as the pain finally faded away. "What do you think he wants this time?"

"I have no idea, but I don't want you to think much about it. He can only get to you mentally; as long as you're within the walls of Hogwarts he can't touch you."

"You really believe that?" Scorpius asked. He knew that if his grandfather wanted to find a way into Hogwarts, he would find a way in. He'd done it before.

"I like to, yes. It's this weird little thing called optimism."

"Optimism? Malfoy's aren't optimistic," he said imitating his grandfather's voice.

"Well technically, I'm not a Malfoy so I'll be optimistic for you." Linden said with a laugh, in light of the situation, but he knew that when it came to his grandfather there was little room for joking.

"I think that it's great to be optimistic, I just know that he's a psychopath and it freaks me out because I haven't spoken to him since I got sorted. I just thought he was done with me. How do you do it Lindy?"

"Do what? Metaphorically give our twisted little family the finger?" she said with a smirk.

"Exactly."

"Simple really. Our situations are different Scor. Firstly, Lucius is _not _my grandfather, he just has authority issues and my dad is used to regarding him like some sort of leader. I chose not to follow the families values because I didn't like the way they did things, even though my parents did. My father is insane and my mother was never strong enough to fight against him, so when they found out I asked to be sorted into Gryffindor...well you know the rest. You on the other hand, had kind, loving parents that taught you what was right and what was wrong, even though you took those horrible lessons as a kid. Lucius has tried to kill all of the good in you but it won't happen because you _are_ good. To the core. It's easy for me to ignore my dad because he never taught me about forgiveness or second chances. Your parents taught you that there is good in all people, so you can't really just give up on your grandfather."

"That makes me sound really, really, stupid. I have scars all over me that prove there isn't a lick of good in any of us."

"No, that doesn't make you stupid, that makes you strong; for not letting those scars change you or what you believe. I don't know; call me crazy, but I think that makes _you_ good." He let out a huge sigh and tried to shake the crazy thoughts from his head. He was good. He was a Malfoy, and he was good.

"You're good too Linden. After all that brainwashing and nonsense you still turned out to be brave and independent."

"Well I had to, didn't? Luckily your dad came to his senses after the war, but my dad and some of his Hogwarts buddies are still under the impression that a dark lord will rise again or some bullshit like that. They're all mad, and I don't want anything to do with any of that. I want to be better; I don't want people associating me with them at all so I've done everything in my power to do anything they don't want. Even befriend a few people I probably shouldn't."

"We've lived a pretty messed up life. The head of our family is a crazed lunatic, you haven't seen your mum or sister in years, I have to hide from my own grandfather, and somehow I just keep messing up. Of all the people I could meet on the first day of school, I had to meet Al Potter, and he had to be just as decent and great as everyone said."

"Oh, I know that story. Of all the guys I could fall for…" she said as she drifted off wistfully.

"You dating James Potter will probably piss everyone off the most. There's no doubting that."

"Woah, who said we were dating? But like I said, my father has already had a funeral for me in his mind. I'm as good as dead to him. You dating Rose Weasley on the other hand-"

"Now who said _we _were dating?"

"But you like her! I don't get boys, why can't you just do something about how you feel?"

"It's complicated." She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, unconvinced by his answer, "It's…really complicated?"

"It's not _that_ complicated. You've been talking about the girl since you were like 10, and you've been best friends ever since. Sounds like one sweet little love story to me."

"Exactly. I feel like it all just makes too much sense. I would love to be in a relationship with Rose, but-"

"Stop trying to talk yourself out of it. Just go for it, and if it works out it works out, if it doesn't you go back to being friends. The only way your relationship could fail for sure is you never give it a shot. You guys are young, and I know the Weasley clan makes it look easy, but everyone doesn't end up marrying the first person they date. That's the beauty of dating." She was right. Even if he and Rose didn't work out, he could say that he at least gave it a shot, and then it would make both of them happy.

"What if grandfather finds out? I don't want anything to happen to her-"

"Ugh! Scorpius, you think too much."

"I'm just saying; his creepy legilimency skills are the reason we're up here in the first place. Thank you for helping by the way; I'd probably still be writhing in pain if it weren't for you."

"No problem, I just hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon. You're probably going to have to tell Al or Rose about this though."

"I will. Someday."

"Someday soon I hope. They're you friends and they'll start to worry if you just keep disappearing with horrible excuses."

"I'll tell them, I swear." He promised.

"Good. Now go do what you need to do with Rose. Ask her out; don't ask her out. Just make a decision. She isn't going to wait forever." She said as she walked out of his room. She was right. It was finally time for him to do what he had been putting off all of this time, because really he was just delaying the inevitable. He left out of his room, glad that Linden had been able to get his mind off of his situation with his grandfather. That was a part of his life that would never make sense, but he wasn't going to let it rule his life either. As he approached the area he had been sitting in earlier, he noticed that Al was sitting alone wearing a shocked expression.

"Hey man, what happened to Rose? I need to talk to her."

"Get in line," Al said slowly, looking rather confused. "Zack Longbottom just came over needing the exact same thing."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: I feel so evil for doing this to you all, but I couldn't help it. I will say though, that I have made my decision about who ends up with whom. I will also say that lots of things will happen in between, so the story won't be ending any time soon. What'd you guys think of Lucius? Don't forget to review, I will be updating again soon!**_

_**-Jazz**_


	28. True Colors

"But I see your true colors  
>Shining through<br>I see your true colors  
>And that's why I love you<br>So don't be afraid to let them show  
>Your true colors<br>True colors are beautiful,  
>Like a rainbow"<p>

-Phil Collins

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Hey Lucy, can I ask you something?" Lily asked, speaking for the first time since they started their short walk from Lucy's house to Louis'. "It's kind of important. Really important actually."_

"_Sure, what is it?"_

"_It's…well it's actually more of a favor." She said carefully. Lily rarely got nervous about anything, so Lucy was surprised that she was acting this way. Something must be really wrong._

"_Of course, what do you need?"_

"_I need you to talk to Lorcan for me." Lucy didn't get it. Lorcan was her best friend back at WADA and they spoke all of the time without prompting from Lily. "I need you to talk to him about considering the idea of possibly talking to Ly."_

"_Ly?" she asked loudly, "You mean Lysander? Since when are you chummy with Lysander Scamander?"_

"_Since forever I guess, I mean we were never not cordial. He's a Gryffindor with us now and the lot of us spend a lot of time together. He's not that bad, honestly."_

"_Not that bad? Lily, he used to throw rocks at us while we played and called it the rock game." _

"_The key phrase there is used to. He was like six-"_

"_He treated Lorcan like crap-"_

"_And he feels awful about it! Trust me, I've seen it for myself. He doesn't have any ill feeling towards Lorcan anymore."_

"_Why would he? Lorcan is a perfectly decent person; Lysander is the bad one, and I happen to know first hand that Lorcan does not want to talk to him."_

"_I know! That's why I want you to convince him that Ly has changed."_

"_How am I supposed to do that? I haven't seen that Lysander has changed for myself. All I know is what you've told me."_

"_Well, you can see for yourself later today because I invited him to hang out with us at Louis'."_

"_Lily! Are you serious?"_

"_What? He's my friend, and I'm just trying to help him out so please, please, please will you do it? Please?" Lorcan really didn't like to talk about his brother so this was bound to be a failure, but Lily seemed convinced that Lysander had good intentions and she wouldn't have asked if she didn't really want this. _

"_Fine I'll do it, but if he pulls anything funny or acts like an idiot, the deal's off."_

"_Oh, I knew you'd come around! Thanks, you're the best!"_

"_I know, but why are you all Team Lysander now? Does Lily have a little crush?"_

"_Oh, god no! No! He's just my friend, I swear on everything."_

"_On everything?" she asked teasingly._

"_On absolutely everything."_

"_Fine, if you say so." Once they arrived at Shell Cottage, Lucy could see that pretty much everyone except for Hugo was there. They walked towards Louis and Lysander, and another boy that looked familiar, but she didn't recognize immediately._

"_Wow. Lysander looks…taller." _

"_Funny right? We used to be taller than the twins and now he towers over most of the kids in our year. It's kind of creepy, but I'm used to it. Is Lorcan not that tall?"_

"_No he's tall too, the resemblance is just a little creepy. Who's that other guy?" Lily didn't answer immediately, and it looked like she had forgotten to tell Lucy something. "Who is it?"_

"_That's Chance Finnegan. Remember him?" She cringed at the name, and was about to charge at him until Lily pulled her back. She hadn't gotten a chance to kill Chase for what he did to Molly, so his little brother would just have to do._

"_That's Chase's brother? That bloody-"_

"_Slow down there tiger, he's nothing like his brother. Trust me. Do you think we'd be hanging out with him otherwise?"_

"_I don't know, you are running in circles with Lysander Scamander now, so your judgment might be clouded."_

"_Hey, keep your snarky comments to yourself; they can probably hear you."_

"_We can definitely hear you." Louis responded. "Lucy this is Chance, have you guys met?"_

"_Yes." Chance answered with a small smile, "She broke my nose."_

"_It was an accident, honest." She responded, since everyone was looking at her like she was a crazy person. "Where's Hugo?"_

"_Apparently he's grounded." He responded. An awkward silence fell among the group and Lucy could see Lily nudging Lysander to say something._

"_Hello there Lucy, long time no see." He said eventually. His voice was deeper than his brothers and there was a clear confidence bouncing off of everything he said. He was very smooth, and Lucy could tell that he knew that._

"_Hello Lysander. It has been a while."_

"_Shall we go for a little walk? I think we have some things to talk about."_

"_Fine." She answered quickly as she walked away without even seeing if he followed. Of course with those gargantuan legs he caught up to her quickly. She could hear Louis' laughter behind her. "What do you want?"_

"_No need to be curt with me Lucy, I'm just an old friend in need of a favor." He said with a goofy grin._

"_Friend? How many of your friends used to throw rocks at you?" she asked with her arms folded defiantly. If he was going to win her over it was not going to be easy. That was probably his problem; he never worked for anything._

"_Oh come on, the rock game was fun!"_

"_For you! I personally didn't see the fun in it at all."_

"_Oh bollocks; I apologize for a stupid game I used to play at least 6 years ago. I'm sorry if I caused you any emotional damage."_

"_Fine. So you want me to talk to your brother? Why should I after what you've put him through in the past?" she asked._

"_Because he's my brother and I'm sorry." She couldn't help but notice the sincerity in his answer, and she could already feel her resolve weakening. She had expecting him to be cocky and annoying, but he was actually being pretty reasonable. "A lot went on when we were really young. We said things we didn't mean and blew things way out of proportion. I just want to put all of that past us."_

"_Why don't you just tell him that yourself?" she asked._

"_You don't think I've tried? He doesn't answer my letters, he is always conveniently not at home over the holidays when I visit my dad; I barely ever even see him, for all I know we don't even look alike anymore." _

"_You've tried to write him?" she asked, "He never told me that."_

"_Does he tell you everything he does?"_

"_Usually."_

"_So you know everything about him?" Not everything, she thought, but most things."_

"_Basically."_

"_Hmm. He never really seemed like the emotional, tell all your feelings type."_

"_Well you wouldn't really know, would you?"_

"_Listen, I know you hate me, but I need you to look past that just long enough for me to talk to him so I can apologize. I already lost my dad thanks to the divorce; I didn't expect to lose my brother too. I know you don't owe me anything, but Lily is always going on and on about how sweet you are and how far you'll go for the people you care about. We may not be friends, but I am friends with Lily, Lou, and Hugo; so for them, could you please help me?" He looked like he really wanted her help, and she had always thought he and his brother should make up once and for all._

"_Ok I'll do it."_

"_Really?" he asked, his eyes going big. He hugged her so forcefully that her feet were lifted off of the ground. "Thanks so much, I've got to tell Lily."_

_He ran off towards Lily and gave her a similar hug, not putting her down until she began hitting him. As he relayed what had happened Lily looked past him a mouthed a thank you to Lucy. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of reuniting the brothers. Now she just had to get Lorcan to be as enthusiastic as Lysander._

* * *

><p>Lucy had no idea why she was nervous as she knocked on Lorcan's door. She just really wanted all of this to go smoothly and with little resistance.<p>

"Lucy!" he said as the door swung open. "Come on in."

"Hey Lorcan. Where's your roommate?"

"Practicing for a new play or something. He wants you to audition by the way."

"Me? Why?"

"Why not? You say that like you're awful or something."

"I don't think I'm awful, I'm just not an actor-"

"But you're popular and you can sing; if you're in it the turnout will be overwhelming. Just one of the many plights of being WADA's most prized student." He joked.

"Oh shut up, I didn't come in here to stack up my resume; I need you to do something. Will you do it?"

"It depends on what it is."

"It's not that bad, I just need you to read something." She said as she held out Lysander's letter. Of course it was addressed from Lucy, because he more than likely wouldn't open it otherwise. He grabbed the letter and opened it suspiciously. "Take as much time as you need."

That had been simple enough. Lorcan had to know who it was from by the second line and his expression hadn't changed, so that had to be a good sign. It felt like she had given it to him 10 minutes ago and she knew what Lysander had to say didn't take that long to read. She had sort of tricked him into actually reading the letter, but it was something that needed to be done. Nobody should have to go through two other people to speak to their own brother. It was absolutely ridiculous. She was pretty positive Lorcan would agree to talk to Lysander; he was very reasonable and always did the right thing.

"No." he said, as he folded up the letter and picked up his guitar. She had only read it once, but she was pretty sure there wasn't a yes or no question in there anywhere.

"No? No what?"

"No, this is not happening. I don't want to talk to Lysander, I don't want to fix things, I don't want anything to do with it. I like things the way they are now."

"You like the way things are? You like living with virtually no contact with your own twin brother?"

"I love it." he said nonchalantly. It was like he really wanted nothing to do with this conversation.

"Come on Lorcan, this can't be good. And I'd imagine that you're close to miserable having not talked to him in such a long time."

"Nope, it's been working out for me so far."

"That may be true, but it isn't working out for your brother. He really misses you."

"Sucks for him. How do you even know how my brother feels? You guys don't talk." He continued strumming his guitar idly, but stopped and looked at Lucy curiously. "How did you get that letter Lucy?"

"Does it really matter?" she asked.

"Yes, it does"

"Well, your brother gave it to me to give to you."

"What? When did you see my brother?"

"It was just a few weeks over the summer; we all hung out at Shell Cottage a few times."

"You didn't even tell me! What, am I not cool enough to hang out with your new group? I guess my brother is charming you all with his antics and arrogance."

"You know, Ly isn't anything like he used to be. He's actually changed and-"

"Ly? Oh, come on! Lucy, please tell me you did not call him that. You really believe he's had some kind of change of heart? Bullshit. He's and idiot and you're an idiot for believing him so easily." Lucy was a lot of things, but an idiot was certainly not one of them. Lorcan had never called her out of her name before, and it didn't suit him at all.

"No, you're an idiot for still holding a grudge about all of this mess! Everybody else has grown up and moved on and you're the only one that isn't on board. If your asinine brother can come to his senses, apologize, and try to make amends, I know you can do the same. This is absolutely ridiculous, you know that? I don't know every single little thing that happened between you but it couldn't have been so bad that you can't even consider forgiving him. What has he done that's so bad?"

"This! He does this! He gets everyone on his side so it seems like I'm the crazy one. He probably flashed you a smile, begged you to do his dirty work, and had you falling all over him in seconds. It took me two years to become good friends with you and you're taking his side on this after a few weeks in the summer! Is he that amazing and irresistible? I shouldn't be surprised, really."

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, confused by his outburst. "I'm not taking anyone's side on anything, I want you two to make-up for _your_ sake. Not his. I thought you'd want this…or at least want to try."

"Well I don't. I don't need to let him back into my life so he can take over just like he used to when we were little. I've gotten pretty used to doing my own thing and I prefer it that way." She had never heard him sound so evil and ridiculous before. It was like he and Lysander had switched personalities, but only over this one issue that was affecting them both so badly.

"Your brother doesn't want to steal your spotlight, Lorcan. He wants his brother back. That's all. He would probably like to see you and say Happy Birthday or just see you at all. It's been years and it's getting ridiculous!"

"i just don't get why you're doing this to me, Lucy."

"I don't get why you're doing this to yourself! He's making a real effort here and you're acting like a immature you even read the letters he's sent you? Apparently there have been loads of them that you haven't replied to. Have you even looked at them?"

"No." he answered bashfully, "I didn't think there was anything worth reading in them."

"Yeah, you should cool down and give them a look. You might find that you're the one that's been keeping you guys apart. You're welcome to come in my room and apologize for being an ass when you're done."

She walked out and slammed the door to his room, really annoyed with how he'd acted. She had never seen him be so childish and unreasonable before and it was a side of him that she didn't like at all. She got back to her room and sat at her desk, pulling out her special parchment and a quill. The parchment was a gift from Fred last Christmas that had been charmed to allow communication between it and any other parchment connected to it. He had charmed it so that Lily, Louis, and Hugo could communicate with Lucy at any time while they were at separate schools. The concept was something close to the paper used in Tom Riddle's diary, but they only used it for communication purposes. The four of them had decided to give Lysander a piece of parchment that connected to Lucy, just until they had this whole situation figured out. She had told him what time she had planned on giving Lorcan the letter, so hopefully Lysander would get her message.

_**Lysander…**_ she wrote, feeling kind of stupid. It wasn't like she needed to call his name, he was the only one that could respond.

**Lucy! I was beginning to think something had gone wrong. Did he read the letter?**

_**Oh, he read it alright. And threw a nice little Scamander fit too.**_

**Scamander fit? Funny. So, I take it he wasn't thrilled; I guess that was to be expected**

_**Yeah, but if you had seen him…I was really close to socking him in the jaw. He called me an idiot**_

**Ouch. He probably just said it out of anger, because we all know you aren't an idiot.**

_**That's the problem. I'd never seen him that angry until today and it was horrible.**_

**Sorry. I didn't think he'd be angry with you. Me sure, but I don't know why he's mad at you**

_**He said he was mad that I was taking your side because I was falling in love with you or something close to that **_she couldn't believe she had actually written that. She could have left out the part about falling for him.

**Oh.**

_**Yeah.**_

**Well, are you su-**

"Lucy!" Lorcan said, as he swung open her door without even knocking. She crumpled up the parchment and threw it on the far side of the wall. His eyes wandered to the spot the paper fell, but he didn't seem too interested in it.

"What do you want? Here to yell at me some more?"

"No. I'm actually here to apologize. And not because you told me to, but because I'm really sorry. And I am sorry, I don't know what made me lose my mind like that." Lucy wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to say to him, but he really looked sorry. She was clearly a just sucker for the Scamander boys' and couldn't standd her ground with one if she tried. "If it makes you feel any better, I wrote to Lysander. I told him that I read a few of his letters and appreciated them, but I'd rather work things out in person."

"In person?" she asked, not able to keep up the silent treatment long. "So you've agreed to see him?"

"I'm not going out of my way to do so, but we're going to see each other during the next holiday. I'm supposed to spend Christmas with our Mom, so we'll probably be there with you guys if you want to see your hard work unfold before your eyes."

"Really? You're going to make up?"

"I'm going to hear him out; I don't know if I'm going to make up with him."

"You will. You'll realize how much you miss him when you see him and you'll all be back to normal! This is so exciting; I can't wait to tell Lily!"

"Lily? What does she have to do with this?"

"Who do you think got me involved? I didn't seek your brother out on my own, and I'll have you know that it took hours for me to agree to help." She exaggerated. "There was absolutely no 'falling for' going on."

"I don't know why I said that. I guess I was kind of jealous."

"You guess? You kind of turned into the Hulk on me in there."

"The what? Never mind. I'm really, really sorry though. That won't happen again; I was just having a bad day already and then you added all of that on top of it and I kind of exploded ."

"You're forgiven as long as that never happens again. Ok? I prefer calm, carefree Lorcan a lot more."

"It will never happen again. Thanks for everything; I'm going to write my dad and tell him the news."

"Alright." She said, holding her smile until she was sure he was a good distance from her room. She ran towards the door and locked it before picking up her parchment from earlier and straightening it out as best as she could. If she thought him freaking out on her was creepy, the complete 180 he had jut pulled was even creepier. He had litterally been spitting with anger a while ago, but was back to his normal self when he got to her room. Something else was going on here, and she wasn't exactly sure what it was. Maybe Lysander would know, and that reminded her about the charmed parchment. She grabbed the paper out of the corner and did her best to uncrinkle it. Lysander had been about to say something before Lorcan barged in, but it had already faded away. She pulled her wand out from her pocket and cast the Aparecium spell on the paper. At first she thought it didn't work, but slowly words started to appear on the paper.

**Well are you sure everything is ok? Has he been taking his anger potions?**

_**Anger potions? **_She wrote, _**What anger potions?**_

Lucy waited and waited for a response, but he must have gone to his next class already. Lorcan had never told her about any anger potions or any kind of anger problems that he had. She was starting to wonder exactly which Scamander brother she should be more worried about. What had she let Lily get her into?

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Hello all! I am taking the next week to go back over the story and clean up some things, fill in a few gaps, and just make it better all around. Thanks for reviewing, favoriting and giving such great advice and feedback! Your faith in this story has really helped me move it along! So as a thank you, I'm fixing up all the chapters and finally putting an end to the madness which is the correct ages of these kids. Idk what I was thinking when I started this, but the ages and time frame is just...bad and all wrong. Thanks again!_**

**_Side note: The rock game (that Lysander used to play with the girls) is a game that my older, male cousins used to "play" with my sister and I when we were younger lol We were the only girls out of like 10 kids in the family, so games like this happened often._**

**_-Jazz_**


	29. Tell Her About It

"Listen boy  
>I'm sure that you think you got it all under control<br>You don't want somebody telling you  
>The way to stay in someone's soul<br>You're a big boy now, you'll never let her go  
>But that's just the kind of thing<br>She ought to know  
>Tell her about it, tell her everything you feel<br>Give her every reason to accept  
>That you're for real"<p>

-Billy Joel

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_James! Linden's here!" he heard Lily call from downstairs. Perfect timing. He had just finished stuffing all the junk on his floor into his closet so he wouldn't get in trouble later for not cleaning up his room. He never understood why his mother made him clean his room when Linden came over. She never made him clean for anyone else, and it wasn't like he had a reputation for being the most organized teenager on the planet anyway. He was also pretty sure that his parents would not allow Linden up to his room, so he didn't see the importance in cleaning it. But he guessed it would be a nice touch for when he asked her to be his girlfriend after dinner tonight. If she tried to say he was too messy or something, he would simply show her the room that he had cleaned and she couldn't say no. Not that he thought she'd say no, but sometimes you just never knew with girls; or more specifically, sometimes _he_ just never knew with girls. "Are you coming down or what?"_

_He turned out the light and closed the door before making his way downstairs. James loved the feeling of home that his house always had. There was always the constant sound of Lily's dog Gideon; whether he was puttering across their wooden floors, barking at something, or just moving around and making the bell on his collar jingle. At first James had despised Teddy for getting her the little fur ball, but Gideon had turned out to be a great addition to the Potter clan. It just wouldn't be a complete house without that dog. James could smell the food his mom was cooking in the kitchen, and could hear his dad and Al arguing over Quidditch stats and games, and heard Lily and Linden giggling in the sitting room about something or the other. _

_He really liked the relationship that Linden and Lily had formed. He honestly trusted Linden with Lily's life, and that was saying a lot. Lily really looked up to her, and he thought that was great because of the other choices of role models young girls at Hogwarts had these days. Linden was one of few girls more focused on school than boys, and she had respect for herself, which couldn't be said for a lot of girls his age. Then there was the added fact that Linden adored Lily. At first he had volunteered Linden to check on Lily because she was the only girl he knew that would do him a favor, but over time she had seemed to enjoy spending time with his little sister_

"_What are you two always giggling about? Are you talking about me?" he said as he entered the room._

"_Get over yourself James," Linden answered, "Lily was just telling me about her summer and all that I'd missed since I last saw her."_

"_You guys covered all of that in the time it took me to close my door and come downstairs?"_

"_Yes." They answered together, before bursting into another round of giggles. He rolled his eyes before walking over to Linden and giving her a hug, causing Gideon to jump down and run off towards the kitchen. He hadn't seen Linden in about two months, and he was glad to see that nothing had really changed. Or nothing that he could see anyway. She had a tan that made her blonde hair look ever brighter, but she was still Linden. Very well kept, very pretty, very consistent. He liked that about her. _

_She scooted over on the couch so that he could sit next to her and he took that as a good sign, except the thought of being that close to her made him nervous and clammy. She patted the spot next to her on the couch and he tried to sit as casually as possible, trying not to hit anything as he draped his arm around her shoulders. She automatically leaned into him, and it was a good feeling that he could get used to. He looked over to make sure it was ok with her, and she smiled warmly at him in response. Linden had smiled at him many times since they'd known each other, but this smile was different. It made his stomach churn and his hands tingle, and he just wanted her to be his already. Now he was acting like one of those sappy dopes that couldn't keep his cool around a girl. Great._

"_Aww, you guys are so adorable. I can't wait until a boy looks at me like that." Lily cooed from the arm chair she was seated in. He looked over to Linden who blushed uncomfortably, and moved his arm from around her. _

"_Hey people!" Al said as he entered the room. He mussed Lily's hair before doing some weird little handshake with Linden that they always did. The two of them were close as well, and Linden was one of few girls that could talk Quidditch and Academics with his dorky, yet somehow cool little brother. "How's it going Linden? I feel like I just walked in on a really awkward moment." Leave it to Lily to ruin a moment and Al to follow it up and announce it publicly._

"_Nothing awkward here." Linden answered. "I'm so glad I get to see you guys again, it's been oddly quiet without you and Lily this summer."_

"_Hey, what about me?" James asked. He was beginning to think she liked his family more than she liked him. Not that he thought she liked him, but you know, he had sort of suspected that she felt something more than a connection with his little brother and sister._

"_I'm glad to see you too, obviously, but I see you all of the time. I rarely see Al and Lily."_

"_Not true."_

"_True. We spend three fourths of our time together at Hogwarts and I see you at Hollis' every summer. That's a lot."_

"_A lot? Is that a bad thing?" he asked nervously. He didn't want her to think he was overcrowding her or suffocating her._

"_Did I say that it was a bad thing?" she asked in that defensive voice she used to use when they would argue. "I was just proving a point."_

"_Fine. Point proven."_

"_Fine." No one in the room spoke after that and it was probably the first time the four of them had been in a room together and had been uncomfortable. He didn't know what his problem was, or why he was arguing with her. It just seemed like he liked her more than she liked him, and that made him feel a bit stupid. He thought that the two of them were making progress towards a relationship, not becoming great family friends._

"_Look, I didn't come in here to start any trouble," Al said quickly, "I just came to say dinner's ready."_

"_You didn't start any trouble." Linden said easily. She walked out of the room behind Al and greeted his parents. He pinched the bridge of his nose frustratedly and made to walk into the dining room until he was stopped by his sister._

"_What the heck are you doing?"_

"_Me? Lily, she's being –"_

"_Her normal self, you're the one acting like a weirdo. I thought you had decided you liked her!"_

"_I did, I mean I do, I just don't know how to act around her now that I've come to terms with it."_

"_Act normal, idiot. Don't screw this up."_

"_Yeah, cause you're the one that'll be losing everything here." He said sarcastically before joining everyone else in the dining room. His sister took a seat next to Al, leaving him to sit between Linden and his mother. _

"_This all looks so good!" Linden said politely._

"_Yeah, it looks great mom."_

"_Thank you guys." Everyone began eating except for Linden, who looked a tad uncomfortable as she folded a napkin in her lap. "You'll have to excuse my family, they see food and attack it. I promise you they have manners somewhere."_

"_Oh it's no problem, Ginny. There's never a dull moment with you guys, and it's much different than where I grew up." Ginny? Since when did she get along with his mom?_

"_I'm sure." James replied, earning a stomp on the foot from his mother. "So Love, what did you do this summer?"_

"_Love?" his dad asked with a smirk, "I didn't know you guys were dating."_

"_We're not!" James yelled quickly. His dad was seriously trying to kill him. This was not a conversation to be had at the dinner table._

"_We're not dating Harry, James has called me that since the first day we met. It's my middle name."_

"_That's a pretty name." His mom answered. _

"_Thanks, James has sort of made me forget how unique it is, he uses it so much."_

"_I don't call you that all of the time."_

"_When have you ever called her Linden?" Al asked._

"_All of the time."_

"_Yeah, in your head."_

_James couldn't think of a good response and simply rolled his eyes at his brothers stupid comments. He had done a great job of making it look like James thought of Linden every waking second or something, which was not exactly true. Everyone went back to eating and James was thankful that conversation had ceased for the time being. He had no clue why he was being so uncool today. He was a smooth, easy-going guy, but ever since he had started liking Linden he had become agitated and jumpy. He had planned out 50 million ways to ask her out, or bring it up at all, and this was not how he'd expected this day to go. It was like everything about her was the same, except for the fact that he liked her, and because of that he was trying too hard to not let it show. Coincidentally, it had made him act like a complete ass._

"_Ginny, I'm sure you get this a lot, but your hair is amazing! How do you get it so straight and shiny?" Linden asked, ending the silence in the room._

"_The trick is to let it air dry halfway, put in produt, then use a blow dryer or your wand on cool to dry it the rest of the way. It makes it really shiny and locks in the straight style."_

"_Really? That's amazing, I've always thought you needed heat."_

"_Heat is the last thing your hair needs honey. I swear Molly is going to fry out all of that gorgeous hair if she doesn't quit straightening it." The girls giggled and chatted and James had no clue what they were talking about._

"_This is riveting stuff ladies," his dad joked, "I can't wait to try out this new blow drying regimen."_

"_Maybe you should try it out babe, those grays are looking a little dull."_

"_Potter's don't gray Gin. Right Lily?"_

"_Right."_

"_Ugh," Al complained, "Enough talk about hair and stuff, it's so boring!"_

"_Oh shut up Albie, you're just mad because order has been restored and there's an equal amount of boys and girls in this house now."_

"_Order hasn't been restored, you've always been outnumbered. Especially when Teddy lived here."_

"_This is true." James added, finally relaxing. It was much easier to be himself when he and Linden weren't speaking to each other directly._

"_Well maybe I should come over more often and even things out a bit." Linden said._

"_Yes!" Lily screamed, "They're only behaving because you're here. We've never made it this far through dinner without a burping contest or at least one spitball or-"_

"_She's being dramatic, we aren't that bad."_

"_You are that bad! We definitely need more girls around here and this is a perfect start. If James would hurry up and ask Lindy out, we could see her more." Lily said. James dropped his fork but Linden only smiled. She was probably laughing at the thought of someone like him liking a girl as perfect as her._

"_Lily, what have I told you about reaching?"_

"_Sorry, isn't it obvious though?" she asked, making Linden and everyone else start laughing for real. They were laughing at him in front of Linden. This was the worst. "They like each other, mom!"_

"_I don't like Linden, and we aren't dating! She's just a friend and we are not dating. Right Love?" he asked._

"_Right." She said quietly._

"_See? I'm glad we got that all cleared up."_

"_Me too. You know what? I should really be going."_

"_No, stay!" Lily begged, "I'm sorry I said all of that stuff, I was just joking."_

"_It's fine Lily, I swear. I know you were kidding, I just lost track of time."_

"_Where do you have to go?" James asked._

"_Dinner was great Mrs. Potter, thanks for having me." She said, ignoring his question._

"_Do you want me to walk you to wherever you're going?"_

"_No, it's too far."_

"_How far is too far? If it's that far I can't let you go alone-"_

"_Mr. Potter, could you apparate me please?" James didn't understand what had happened that was so bad that she had to leave, but his dad had barely agreed to apparate her before she was walking out of the door. James got up from his seat and followed them out of the front door, but by the time he got to the front step, the two of them had already vanished into thin air. What was his problem? Why couldn't he just be himself around Linden anymore? He yelled at her in front of his entire family and blurted out that he didn't like her. That was clearly not true, and she had to know that right? He wanted to ask her out, he just didn't want it all to go down with his parents in the room. She couldn't possibly think he really wanted to just be her friend; not after all they'd been through and all they had accomplished. She knew him better than anyone ever would and she was perfect for him, and he was just a huge idiot. He was about to kick himself until he heard a pop, but it was just his dad coming back._

"_Is she ok?" he asked._

"_She's fine James. Why don't we go back inside?" His dad squeezed his shoulder in that 'you really screwed up now' way that dad's do. He followed his dad back into the kitchen where the rest of his family was eerily quiet._

"_James, you're a bloody fucking idiot."_

"_Language, Al." his mom said as she glared at the younger brother._

"_I mean, I don't even know what the hell I did." His parents shared one of the weird looks like they knew a huge secret. He hated it when they did that. "What? I truly don't understand what I did wrong!"_

"_I know you don't," his mom said sympathetically, "Potter men can be hopelessly clueless when it comes to women. It will all work out in time, buddy. Don't worry."_

* * *

><p>Thanks to that tragic evening, the start of James' 5th year at Hogwarts had been bleak. This was supposed to be the year everything was perfect. He was supposed to have the friends, the status of being an upperclassmen, and the girl. His girl. Since he had invited Linden over to his house, the status of his friendship with Linden had been questionable. Mostly he was embarrassed about the way he had acted. He had completely frozen up around Linden and literally told her he did not want to be with her in front of his parents. Now they were one month into the school year and things couldn't be going any worse. He had barely seen Linden, let alone had the opportunity to apologize for being an idiot. She hadn't even spent much time with his brother and sister, so he couldn't ask them what was up with her or get their help. Even Hollis hadn't seen much of her and she was the last person James would ever ask for anything. Luckily, Carter was going to help him out.<p>

"Mate, you really stepped in it this time."

"Please don't remind me, Thomas. I have the memory permanently burned into my brain. So is she going to come sit with us at lunch today?"

"Yes, Hollis is bringing her down now. She had to tell her you got food poisoning to get her to go so you better talk fast when she sees you walk in the door."

"Ugh, this is just like last time."

"Yeah, you yelled at her then too. You're going to have to get a grip on your emotions if you plan on ever getting out of friend zone with Linden. You do like her don't you?"

"Obviously."

"Then just be yourself! She likes you, so changing who you are to impress her makes absolutely no sense. You keep trying to act tough like liking her doesn't affect you, but it does and you should let her see that. Do that, and she won't be able to resist you." He said cockily, as if he was some sort of girl guru.

"How do you know that?"

"Who's the one with the girlfriend here?" Carter asked mockingly.

"You are."

"And who's the single idiot that keeps screwing up and getting his foot stuck in his mouth."

"Alright, alright, I'll be myself. This better work or you won't hear the end of it Casanova."

"I'm sure I won't. Let's go." The walk to the Great Hall was nerve wracking, but Carter was right. Why would he try to be any different than the guy he had always been? He just needed to relax and let everything happen naturally, after he got her to forgive him, which of course would be the hardest part of his whole plan. The two boys walked into the Great Hall and luckily no one made a huge fuss, so Linden kept her face turned from the door and didn't see him walking over. He looked a little further down to see Al dragging his finger across his throat menacingly, and Lily giving a thumbs up with the discretion of large moose. Those two might literally be the death of him someday. Linden noticed his siblings' strange behavior and looked his way right when he got behind her.

"Geez Holls, I'm so shocked that you and your nosy little boyfriend set me up again." She said sarcastically before throwing down her fork and making to leave. James stopped her by holding on to both of her shoulders. It took everything in him to not clam up, but he tried to remember to just be himself.

"Don't leave on my account Love, we've got a lot to catch up on, yeah?"

"Nope. I'm all caught up thanks to a very eye-opening dinner."

"Oh come on, you're not still mad about that are you? I was hopped up on Pepper up potion. I can't be held accountable for any actions. I hardly remember that night." She tried to move around him, but he had a firm grip on her shoulders. He would not let her walk away from him this time. When she tried to go left, so did he. When she tried to juke him, he was right with her. In obvious frustration she huffed and sat back down at the table. He was really happy that worked; she could have kicked him in the balls. He took a seat next to her and tried to ignore the insane gestures coming from his siblings.

"You're a buggering idiot, you know that?"

"I know, Love. But I could be _your_ buggering idiot."

"Lucky me. I could have the most inconsistent, indecisive, insensitive guy I've ever met all for myself. You know you completely embarrassed me with your little outburst at your house right?" she asked. He knew she was going to have this conversation whenever. She didn't care that there was 100 other people around or that she was practically yelling. She didn't care what people thought of her.

"I apologize for that. I don't know what came over me."

"Neither do I, and it really makes me question what's going on here. I can't ever tell when you like me, or when you don't, and I don't know if I like that James. We were having a perfectly normal and platonic night, and then you had to go all crazy like being with me was the worst idea anyone had ever had.

"You know I don't think that."

"Do I? You are the one that put the thought in my head. Lily made a little joke and you couldn't even handle that. You acted like the thought of liking me was just outrageous."

"Give me some credit, it's us we're talking about! We hated each other from the time we were 11-"

"But we're not 11 anymore James, are we? Stop trying to blame other things on why you can't just muster up the courage to ask me out. You couldn't even tell me you liked me, I heard from your mom, dad, brother, sister, Carter, McGonogall-"

"Me? What about you? When have you come up to me and expressed anything more than friendly feelings towards me. I'm not a bloody mind reader."

"Look at us! We're arguing about whether or not we like each other! Maybe this is all just a big disaster waiting to happen."

"Oh come off it, you know we're perfect for each other. The sooner you realize it-"

"Because I'm at fault for us not being together-" she yelled, standing from the table. He stood too, and cut her off from her rant.

"If you want to get technical, yes."

"Ugh! I hate you James Potter! You're arrogant and pig-head and obnoxious and -" Somehow James had completely messed this up. He couldn't find the right words because when he was around her things just didn't make any freaking sense. She made his blood boil in more ways than one, and it was hard to control all of those hormones and emotions when they were together and that hostility fueled most of their problems. He liked her, a blind idiot could see that. He liked every bloody thing about her from her hair, to her smile, to her preppy style, to her loyalty and kindness, to her laugh. He liked how responsible she was, and like when she nagged him about doing his homework, or going getting enough sleep. He liked that she had the balls to yell and him and that she looked bloody good doing it. He liked everything about this girl and he wanted her and everyone else in the world to know it.

Clearly, he couldn't say that to her right now, but he could show her how he felt. She clearly noticed that he hadn't been listening to a word of her rant, and pushed him in frustration. She tried to push him again, but he caught her arm and pulled her as close to him as physically possible. James didn't know how to verbalize his feelings at all, but he was hoping that now, as he kissed Linden in the middle of the Great Hall in front of the entire school and their teachers, that she would finally get what he'd been trying to say for the last 2 years. It took her a few seconds to realize what was going on, but much to his liking, she responded to the kiss. This was really happening. She couldn't deny how he felt now.

He pulled back from her and couldn't help smirking as he took in the sight of her with her chest moving up and down heavily while she touched her lips. He thought she would have been yelling at him again by now for interrupting her, but she just stood there silently. He could see Lily jumping up and down in her seat and most of the other students whistling or giggling.

"You just kissed me." She said breathily.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?" James could think of ten thousand sappy reasons so he settled on telling her the truth.

"Because I like you Linden." He said, making her blush. "And because I wanted to."

"And you just do whatever the bloody hell you want right?" she asked. He noticed she wasn't mocking, nor did her statement have the usual edge it does when she's scolding him. She sounded...sweet.

"Now you're catching on." James winked at her and saw the corner of her mouth turn up in the tiniest of smiles. "Linden Love Greengrass Nott, would you be my girlfriend?"

"Maybe." She said, sporting a smirk that looked oddly like his own.

"What? After all we just-" Now it was her turn to shut him up with a kiss. She walked up to him and kissed him even harder than he had her. She always had to try and one up him, but he wasn't going to complain. She pulled away with a smile and wiped the chapstick off of his bottom lip.

"You really need to learn how to take a joke James Potter." She said before grabbing her things and walking out of the Great hall. James let out a huge breath of relief, not believing that Linden was officially his girlfriend. Clearly everyone else in the Great Hall agreed, because they burst into around of applause that was fit only for two people as cool as him and Linden. He sat back down with his friends and family, smiling like an idiot.

"About time, bro. You could've spared us the PDA though." Al said.

"Oh shut up Al, I thought it was sweet." Lily added. "I'm so happy for you J!"

"Gosh Lily, you're such a sap."

"It's called being a romantic, maybe you should try it on _your_ girlfriend."

For once, he could care less about Lily and Albus' bickering. He had finally gotten what he'd always wanted, and he had done it in a way that only he could. This was going down in his books as one of the best days he'd ever lived to see.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I'm finally done editing all of the chapters and updating t_****_he ages for __thi__s story and it was a lot more than I expected, but I'm all done and ready to get back to updating! Thanks for sticking with me, y'all are great!_**

**_-Jazz_**


	30. Hatred

"You and me accept reality, there's no way that we can agree  
>The world can't make us alter this position<br>At least you and I know where we stand  
>We can't be friends, walk hand in hand<br>My hostility for you defies description"

-Kinks

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Gideon. Fred had only known the guy for a little while, but there were many things that he could say about his "brother." He was very stylish, polite, and had a sense of humor that fit in perfectly with the "hippie" kind of vibe their section of the Weasley family had. He was a really good guy, but he was so good that it drove Fred insane. He was an expert at everything and could always speak on any subject ease. Fred didn't find Gideon to be a savvy, worldly, older role model, he found him to be extremely annoying and chatty. His sister ate up all of his stories about his life as a traveling nomad. She acted like she had never been anywhere before. He had been to more countries than they had, but they were pretty well traveled to be so young. It was Gideon's fault they couldn't add another country under their belt, because their parents had decided they needed to stay home and bond instead of going on their annual summer trip. That was probably the first thing that rubbed Fred the wrong way, but it wasn't until he got home and noticed that all of his things had been moved to the guest bedroom that he realized he and Gideon might have a problem. What kind of grown man would steal a room from a teenage boy? Apparently it had been their parents' idea, but he had clearly agreed. The killer thing was that it was only a temporary situation, and Fred was the only one that thought his brother could have temporarily lived in the guest room._

_Their dad had also hopped on the G train easily. He had literally written down every single idea that Gideon had for the shop. He could admit that some of them were decent ideas, but most of them flat out made no sense. His dad had pretty much offered him a job as the newest brain behind the wheezes, but he hadn't even made any ideas that Fred hadn't already thought of. His dad never even let him past the front counter in the store, let alone give him any ideas. It was really annoying. And their mom, oh god their mom, she might as well be literally kissing the ground that Gideon walked on. She was treating him like a child, cooking for him, picking up after him, checking on him; Fred had to hold back from screaming at everyone that they were dealing with a grown man, not a newborn baby. _

_On top of all of those other extremely annoying qualities, Gideon was some kind of healthy, athletic, work out freak that had all kinds of crazy ways that he stayed in shape. Of course, to make Gideon feel more comfortable their mom had adopted some of his ways and incorporated it into everyone else's lives. That meant breakfast every morning even if you weren't hungry, counting carbs, and a complete disposal of all unhealthy things in the house. It also included daily time being active, and that was usually blended into bonding time. So today, they were playing a game of Quidditch. Fred liked Quidditch in general, and he was a decent player, but he would much rather be sleeping, lounging around, or hanging out with his friends. It had kept him in shape for 15 years and he had every plan to keep it that way. Not to mention, family Quidditch worked much better when there were four of them in the family. Now it was just awkward, especially since Fred was the worst of the five._

"_Hey Fred! Are you going to play?" Roxy yelled. Before he could answer, Gideon flew next to her and mussed her hair; something that would have guaranteed Fred a slap in the back of the head. It wasn't surprising that when Gideon did it, his sister just laughed._

"_No, I'm not playing. Can I go back inside now?"_

"_No!" his mom scolded. Luckily he was far away enough that she didn't hear him smack his teeth before laying back in the grass of their backyard. He figured that if he couldn't get a good nap inside, he could get a good nap outside and enjoy the sun a little. If Gideon wasn't such a big secret he would invite James over and they could play exploding snap at the very least. He felt like now that he was 15, they should be doing more mature things, but he honestly couldn't think of anything else to do. He was sure Hollis would inform them all of the do's and dont's of being 15 when school started. This wretched summer had been so bad that Fred was actually looking forward to going back to school. Not being surrounded by the freak show that his house had turned into would be a lovely change of pace. Fred was close to sleep, until he felt the sting of the sun go away abruptly and the temperature drop a degree or two._

"_It's not good to lay in the sun like that." Gideon said, still hovering over Fred on his broom. "You could get all kinds of skin problems. You know, I-"_

"_Ugh let me guess. You rescued a small helpless child from a beach just south of Panama who was one ray of sun away from a life long battle with skin cancer?"_

"_Nah, I read it in Teen Witch Weekly."_

"_How fascinating." Gideon chuckled in response and Fred could feel the sun on his face again. He thought the guy had left, but then he heard a broom hit the ground and someone lay next to him. "Tired of getting your arse whooped by Roxy?"_

"_She's bloody brilliant, she is. She's one of the fastest Chasers I've ever played with."_

"_She gets that from my mom, but she's best at Seeker. I'm afraid someone will give her a Beater's baton one day and she'll be able to play the entire field by herself."_

"_I don't doubt that she could." This was truly the longest the two of them had talked, and it was just as weird as he would have expected. It was more like talking to a school acquaintance than someone you'd spent three and a half months "bonding" with. You'd think they just met today, and the only way you'd guess they were brothers is by looking at them. Gideon was a taller, more muscular, slightly darker version of Fred. They looked a lot alike, but the similarities stopped there._

"_Well, good chat." He said, making to leave._

"_Fred!"_

"_What?" he asked, just wishing he could go inside, eat a treacle tart, and go to sleep._

"_I know the two of us aren't exactly close, but I want to thank you for welcoming me into the family and letting me hang around."_

"_If you want to get technical, it was your family first and I didn't let you hang around, my parents did."_

"_Still, thanks. I just wish we could have more time to hang out because I'd really like to get to know you better."_

"_You know, I was just thinking the exact same thing." Fred lied. "Too bad school starts soon, we could've really gotten something going here. Speaking of school, I really need to get packing. I'll be in my room if you need me." Fred walked away before Gideon could respond, or try to help him, or do anything other than be far far away. 7 days from now he would be back at Hogwarts, and wouldn't have to put up with the whole big happy family act. Gideon had ruined Fred's summer, but there was no way he could ruin Hogwarts._

* * *

><p>"Seriously Fred, we're three months into the school year and you're still trying to get to class on time." Leah said mockingly.<p>

"Can't a guy be excited about learning?"

"Yeah, when was the last time you got excited about learning? You're probably just excited about breakfast."

"Doesn't matter. After the summer I formed a new appreciation for this place. It is a special haven and I refuse to take it for granted."

"Wow, your summer was that bad huh?"

"It was a nightmare. I feel like we should have had this conversation before now. How was your summer?" he asked, getting a good look at her for the first time today. Over the summer she had let her usually short, cropped hair grow out, and he had been surprised to see that it fell in black, loose curls. It looked pretty good.

"It was ok, I guess. I spent more time with Linden and Hollis this summer- hence the nails and the hair and stuff. I only agreed to let my hair grow if they agreed to be the ones to deal with it."

"What's so terrible about longer hair?"

"It takes longer to do, and you know I'm an on the go kind of girl. I don't have time, nor the desire, to curl it and stuff every morning. It's not like I'm trying to catch a man or anything." She teased.

"You would not need to change anything to "catch a man" because you're already one of the coolest girls here. It's just a matter of time before some older bloke sweeps you off of your feet and leaves me out of a best friend."

"You forget I had a boyfriend once."

"Oh you did? What happened?"

"It ended badly."

"It did not end badly, we were like 12."

"Whatever. In your defense, it was the best relationship I've ever been in."

"Yeah, it's the only one too."

"Seriously Fred, I- woah!" she said as she stopped walking abruptly. "Either I'm crazy, or I'm currently looking at you from the future."

"What? I'm going to go with crazy."

"No, look at that guy over there with Proffesor Lupin! He looks just like you, only hotter." Fred ignored the jibe, turned around and saw the last person he expected to see in the halls of Hogwarts. Gideon waved at him and it took everything for Fred to not scream. What the heck was he doing here? "Why is he waving at you? You know each other?"

"Not exactly."

"Liar. He's waving at you like he's known you his entire life."

"It's really starting to feel like he has." Fred said in the most menacing way he could. "You can go on to breakfast if you want, I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright. You sure?"

"Yeah, I just want to say hello." He said as he walked over to his brother, who seemed to be chatting it up quite nicely with Teddy. "Gideon, Teddy!"

"What's up bro?"

"Bro?" Teddy asked, "You two know each other?" Fred gave his brother a look that he hoped said 'shut your big mouth you idiot.' They still hadn't told many people about their little family secret, but here he was strolling around Hogwarts with a face that looked very much like Fred's. An idiot could see that the two of them were related.

"We've met once or twice." Gideon said quickly, catching his mistake.

"Oh. Well I'd love to chat but I promised my little sister I'd meet her before breakfast. Fred here can show you around, can't you Freddy?" Fred wasn't going to answer and say no, but luckily Gideon helped him out.

"It's ok, I'm sure I can find my way-"

"Oh no, my dear cousin here will do this for me, considering all the things I've done-"

"Alright, let's go!" he said, not interested in Teddy's guilt speech. Ever since Lena had been born, Teddy and Vic had completely worn out the guilt thing. He started walking down the hallway and Gideon followed.

"He seems like a nice guy. How are you related?"

"You remember James? His dad, Harry Potter, is Teddy's godfather. I guess technically we weren't related at first, but he might has well have been. Then he married my cousin Vic, so now we're really related."

"He married Victoire Lupin?"

"Yeah, you know her?"

"Not really." He answered awkwardly. Fred didn't have the patience to ask him what that was about, and there were more important questions to be asked here.

"Why are you here?"

"No need to sound so excited, but I got a job here."

"WHAT?! A job doing what?"

"Madame Hooch fell ill and won't be able to finish out the year, and she asked mom to fill in for her as Flying instructor. She would have done it, but asked if I'd like to since I'd never been to Hogwarts and wanted to see it for myself. And of course I'll get to hang out with you, Lex and Roxy, and maybe even-"

"What ever happened to keeping a low profile? People are going to know we're brothers G, we look like bloody twins!" he screamed.

"It's not that big of a deal. People can know we're related."

"Oh yeah? And who's going to tell everyone the riveting story of our mom and dads' creepy little love triangle?"

"I will."

"Of course, I shouldn't have even asked."

"What is your problem?!"

"_Me? _ You're my problem! You just come out of nowhere and take over everything! You ruined my summer, you have my parents foaming at the mouth when you walk into a room,Roxy talks about you nonstop, and when I finally get a moment to myself you're here at my school too! Everywhere I go, you're there just being you and it's driving me crazy!" he screamed.

"You know what? I understood this summer that you were a little stand-offish, and everyone told me it took time for people to get close to you, but I had never expected you to be this selfish." He said like a parent scolding a young child_._ "I had no parents for 26 years Fred. No parents, no siblings, nothing. I didn't have a huge fancy school where I got to learn Quidditch with my friends and cousins. Up until this summer, I did everything on my own, and I finally got to feel what it was like to be with a real family, but you just don't want that. I'm sorry if I've made life harder for you Fred; it wasn't my intention."

Gideon walked away, and although Fred's first thought should have been guilt or shame, he couldn't help but think of the fact that his brother had stormed off into a building he'd never been in before. He would deal with his family issues later; right now he had to get to the Great Hall for breakfast and to meet up with his friends. It wasn't like he was trying to make this whole relationship with Gideon difficult, he just didn't like change. Everyone else in his family was really good at adapting and stuff, but it took Fred longer to trust people. He wasn't trying to be an asshole, he just didn't see the point in kissing someone's ass when you really don't know them. Having a cooler older brother was supposed to be cool, not this dramatic. He walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and was immediately drawn to the section where his friends were sitting. They had been sitting exactly in the middle of the table since their first year and as the years went on, others just filled in around them. That was one thing in his life that hadn't changed at least.

"How was your chat with the mysterious visitor?" Leah asked.

"It wasn't the most productive conversation I've ever had."

"What mysterious visitor did you have?" James asked as he joined the table, not letting go of Linden's hand. They were disgusting.

"It was just my brother."

"Yeah right, you don't have a brother." Fred wasn't going to argue the subject. He'd told James, but couldn't control whether he believed it or not. Honestly, Fred probably wouldn't believe if it wasn't happening to him.

"Is this visitor hot?"

"He's too old for you Hollis, and you have this crazy thing called a boyfriend."

"I didn't say I wanted to have his children, Fred. I'm just curious if he looked anything like you." Fred raised his eyebrow at her comment and noticed that other people at the table were shocked too.

"Hollis, I think you just called Fred hot."

"No," she said blushing, "I- I still think you look like a piece of broccoli with all of that hair on your head and the little mustache isn't working for you either, nice try though."

"There's the Hollis we all know and don't love." He said with a laugh. He had barely had enough time to enjoy the moment before he felt a huge smack on the back of his head. "What the-"

"Fred, what is wrong with you?"

"That's the million dollar question today Rox. Unfortunately I don't have an answer."

"We need to talk. Now."

"Geez," Hollis said in her bitchy voice, "Why don't you drop the attitude?"

"I've got a much better idea; why don't you drop off of the face of the earth? You won't be missed. Fred, now." His sister snapped. Hollis looked completely taken aback by Roxy's comments, but that was her own fault for being so rude. Fred hopped up from the table and followed his sister out of the Hall. "What did you say to Gideon, Fred?"

"Nothing-"

"Oh, you definitely said something. He came to me apologizing about upsetting you and saying that he should probably leave. What did you do?"

"Well I didn't tell him to leave if that's what you're thinking."

"Stop playing stupid Fred, this isn't a joke. You really hurt his feelings-"

"He's twenty bloody six! Why should I be worried about his feelings?"

"Because he's a human being and more importantly he's your brother! Your family! Would you act like a complete ass to Al, or Lucy, or Hugo-"

"Of course not, but they're my _real_ family. I don't even know this other guy and I'm not just going to welcome him into my life with open arms because he claims to be my brother."

"You don't know him because you're stubborn and cold, and won't take the time to get to know him. What more proof do you need that he's your brother? Is the freakish resemblance not enough? Mom telling you didn't do the trick either? I gave you the summer because I figured you'd have a little trouble dealing with it but this has to stop because he isn't going anywhere." Fred could only roll his eyes in response.

"Whatever."

"You know what he said to me? He said that he would go back to Scotland and forget about all of this if it was causing trouble for you. He was willing to give up his mother, a family, and a girlfriend to make you happy but you can't drop your nuts and treat him decently? That's not the nice, sweet, loving Fred that I grew up with."

"He left a girl back in Scotland?"

"A fiancé actually."

"Why?"

"I don't honestly think it's my place to say. Just know that he was willing to spend time away from her to get to know us and-"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"

"Maybe by getting to know him and not being jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Look, I know what it's like to have something all to yourself, and then suddenly have to share it. I was an only child once, and one day mom and dad told me I was going to be a big sister. Did I think you would be their favorite and they'd forget about me? Yes. Did I throw a hissy fit? No. 16 years later I find out I'm a little sister as well and I was thrilled about it. I thought you would be too."

"I was at first, then I met him and he's just so perfect and cool and it seemed like I was just watching the Gideon show for three months straight. I stayed to myself and the four of you looked so happy together; it kind of got me feeling like I wasn't important anymore."

"You are important to us Fred, trust me. We're not complete without you and we won't be without Gideon either. He loves you-"

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does!"

"Why? I've acted like a complete ass."

"Exactly. Doesn't that prove to you that he's a decent person at all?"

"I guess."

"You guess?" a deep voice asked, coming out from behind a pillar in the hallway. He had heard their entire conversation and was still smiling. He was either a really good guy or a psycho.

"You guys pulled a bait and switch on me?" he asked, not thinking that the goody goody had it in him. Maybe they were a little more alike than he thought. He reached out his hand in a truce and Gideon accepted. "Sneaky, but I like it. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Really? That's it?" Roxy asked.

"What?"

"All it took was a handshake and then of all the things you like about him, you like that he tricked you?" his sister asked. "Boys are so weird. I'll leave you guys to it, then. And you're welcome. Both of you."

"She's really something else." Gideon said, shaking his head at their sister.

"You gotta love her." He responded uncomfortably. "Listen, I really am sorry for acting like such an annoying brat. I bet when you found out you had a brother you weren't expecting it to be a four year old."

"I get how you feel, trust me. But I need you to know that I'm not trying to take over your life, I'm trying to be a part of it. We can talk, or hang or whatever, but I don't want you to feel forced to like me just because we share a mother."

"I don't. I did at first, but I think we can start over. If you want."

"I know it's going to take a while for us to feel like brothers, but for now we can just get to know each other and be friends. You seem like a pretty cool dude."

"You seem cool too." He finally admitted. A lot of the problem had just been that Fred thought he was way too cool for his own good. "Are you staying to be the Flying instructor?"

"I think I will. It seems like a nice gig."

"Hanging with firsties all day? It's not that great, but I guess there are perks. Like flying around all day or something."

"Yeah, actually to me that is a perk. I'm glad we talked." Gideon said, holding out his arms for a hug. Fred had a general rule against hugging other men, but he could make a small exception this one time. "So we're good?"

"We're good." He said as he started walking towards the classrooms. "Actually, we'd be even better if you'd sign this note to excuse my tardiness from class."

"Why do you already have the note written and ready to go in your bag?"

"I like to stay prepared." He answered as he watched his brother sign the parchment and hand it back to him.

"Is this even allowed?"

"We're certainly about to find out. Thanks man."

"No problem. I'll see you around."

So maybe Fred had been acting like a brat, but he guessed since he technically apologized, he could really try to make this whole brother thing work. It's not like Gideon was awful, and he did have a great sense of style, so maybe Fred could learn a thing or two from the guy.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Things have gotten extremely crazy around here! I can't even deal with it all. But here's a little chap from stubborn Fred lol Hope you liked it!_**

**_-Jazz_**


	31. I Got You

"A place to crash, I got you  
>No need to ask, I got you<br>Just get on the phone, I got you  
>Come and pick you up if I have to<br>What's weird about it is we're right at the end and mad about it  
>Just figured it out in my head<br>I'm proud to say I got you

Go ahead and say goodbye  
>I'll be alright<br>Go ahead and make me cry  
>I'll be alright<br>And when you need a place to run to  
>For better for worse, I got you"<p>

-Loena Lewis

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly was not really interested in going to Hogsmead, but Carson had practically begged her to get some fresh air. She wasn't really sure why he wanted to go with her so badly, but it was her seventh year and she didn't plan on spending all of it as a sad, depressed, pain in the ass. Surprisingly, Molly hadn't been an emotional wreck. On the outside. As far as everyone else could tell, she was the same old Molly she used to be. Internally was where she had a problem. On the inside, Molly felt like a huge mess. She was always surrounded by people but she felt terribly lonely. Since Madison had dropped out of school, she was able to move out of Roxy's room and back into her own. When she was staying with Roxy, Molly would get up at random hours of the night, find an empty spot in the sommon room, and cry until she was exhausted. Afterwards, she would do her make-up, get back in bed, and when she woke up no one could tell what she'd been through the night before. Now that she slept away from Roxy's concerned eyes, she was able to cry in the comfort of her own bed every night._

_She honestly didn't even know why she was crying, but it could be for a few reasons. One, the little stunt Chase and Molly had pulled was extremely embarassing for Molly. Her boyfriend and best friend had been fooling around right under her nose and it made her look stupid for not listening to everyone. Two, she really did love Chase, and now she was kind of forced not to. It was like not loving him anymore wasn't her choice, and that was a hard thing to internalize no matter what that person did to you. Three, she was alone. Not because no one showed interest in her, but because she found it hard to show any interest in them. She felt like everyone had ulterior motives, or was going to turn out to be a cheating psycho. There was just a lot going in her head all of the time, and instead of verbalizing it to anyone with an ear like she used to, she was keeping all of these things to herself._

"_Molly!"_

"_Yeah?" she answred, wiping away the few tears that had formed in her eyes. The last thing she needed was for Roxy to see her all emotional._

"_What are you doing? Carson has been waiting for you for like 30 minutes outside. I had to let him in."_

"_Is it 12:00 already?"_

"_It's 12:30! Get to moving!"_

"_Fine." She said as she walked out of the door. Either Roxy hadn't noticed Molly's sour mood or she just chose not to ask her about it. It didn't matter to her, as long as no one asked her what was wrong. That was definitely Molly's least favorite question to be asked. If you said what was wrong, people expected you to talk about it to them like they were your therapist. If you told them nothing was wrong, they didn't believe you, and wanted you to talk to them about it like they were your therapist. No one was ever satisfied with the answer you gave, and that was really frustrating. She walked out to the main area of the Common room and saw Carson surrounded by Gryffindor girls. They were all over him like he was a piece of meat or something, but she understood why they felt that way. He was really good looking, smart, and wasn't a womanizer. He actually had a good head on his shoulders and had that whole "golden boy" thing going on. Molly didn't even interrupt their conversation; she just stood across from him at the portal entrance and watched. As she got a better look she noticed that Carson had changed a lot over the years. She hadn't really _looked _at him in a while because she found it hard to pay attention to much of anything lately. He had really filled out over the years, but he wasn't bulky like Chase. He was lean, and fit, and she thought it was a good look. His hair was tousseled perfectly, and he was able to maintain the rugged but clean style that he had. Just as she was about to examine his eyes, he looked up at her and narrowed his eyes at her teasingly. _

"_Excuse me ladies." He said as he snaked his way out of the crowd of groupies. "I can't believe you."_

"_What did I do?"_

"_You were just going to watch those girls attavk me?"_

"_They were not attacking you, they were just trying to catch your eye. And you didn't seem too offput by them."_

"_I couldn't be rude. Now come on, I get a whole day with you and I don't want to waste it." He held out his hand, and she took it politely and gave him a squeeze before she let go. It wasn't that she didn't want to hold his hand, she just didn't want to give off the wrong impression. "So, where did you want to go?"_

"_Wherever you want is fine. Are you hungry?"_

"_This is me we're talking about, of course I'm hungry. How do you think I stay so fit?"_

"_Not by eating, but you're in luck because I'm hungry too. Three Broomsticks?"_

"_Yes. But before we go in I want to give you something." He said as he stopped walking and dug around in his coat pocket. He pulled out a small box and handed it to her with a small smile on his face. She opened it slowly and instantly fell in love with the small tennis bracelet. It was a simple gold chain with a small sapphire hanging from it. It was beautiful._

"_What is this for?"_

"_Because it's Saturday." In the three years she was with Chase, he had never bought her anything. And especially not because it was Saturday._

"_I'm being serious Carson."_

"_Me too. You don't have to have a reason to give people gifts, but if you must have one, I got it because you're my friend and I like to see you smiling, and I knew that would bring a smile on your face. Happy?"_

"_No. I can't accept this, it's too much."_

"_It's really not, honest. Please take it, because I'm honestly too lazy to take it back to the shop." She looked at the bracelet again and could admit that it had made her happy, but she felt like that made her shallow. Chase had always thought she was shallow; maybe he was right._

"_Thanks Carson, you really are amazing."_

"_So are you. I mean it." He smiled and swept a piece of hair behind her ear, sending chills through her body on an already cool day._

"_Alright, let's go in then." She said quickly, before the moment could get any more intense. She really wasn't in a place where she could be flirty, or intimate with anyone. She had never had those things with Chase, so it felt really weird coming from another guy. The two of them sat down at a table for two. She realized this was the first time she'd been to Hogsmead with anyone other than Chase. She hadn't been allowed to go until her third year, and even then Teddy had held practices during that time. When she did finally get a chance to go, it was when she was dating Chase and they always went together or didn't go at all. She also realized she had referred to Chase in her mind about 10 times today, and she should probably stop. The chance that he thought about her at all was slim to none._

"_Hey Carson!" a girl said, snapping Molly out of her thoughts. "Where have you been lately?" _

"_I've been here and there. How about you?" he asked smoothly. Molly knew Carson had an affinity for being polite to his groupies, but it was getting harder for her to weed out who he was being polite to, and who he was actually in to._

"_Same I guess, except I'm starting to think you're a closet Gryffindor fan. Will I be seeing you around our common room more?"_

"_I like all of the Houses, but I'll try to stick around the tower a little more. See you around?"_

"_See you. Bye Molly." She said with a giggle. Molly waved goodbye, and watched the girl walk away. She had no clue how that girl knew who, but that really didn't matter as she looked at Carson suspiciously._

"_Who was that girl?"_

"_Sarah? She's just a girl from my House. No one special."_

"_Not in her mind; she likes you." Molly said with confidence._

"_Sarah?" he asked, looking back at the younger girl._

"_Yes, Sarah. Do you like her back?"_

"_No. I like someone else."_

"_Oh." Molly didn't know why she thought otherwise. Carson was a catch, and it was very likely that a girl had caught his eye. That made her a little jealous, but she had no right to be. She had her chance with Carson, shut him down, and ruined it, all because of Chase. She was shocked that he could even still talk to her after how stupid she'd been. He deserved to be happy, and if he found that with Sarah, or Elaina McLaggen, or anyone, she was happy for him. "Thanks for getting me to come out of the castle; I think I really need this."_

"_Don't mention it. I'm always here for you." That was something she had been sure of a year ago, but as time went on she realized that he may not always be there for her. Someday he'd fall in love, and Molly would only be a thought he had when he was feeling nostalgic about his Hogwarts days. He would have his happy ending eventually, because if anyone deserved happiness it was him._

* * *

><p>Things had gotten much better for Molly since the end of last year. She was almost completely back to her old self, and she didn't feel sad or hopeless anymore. She just felt like Molly, which was a good thing considering a short while ago she felt like a complete stranger. She could hang out with her friends, her family, and more importantly she could go more than five minutes without relating her life now to her life with Chase. It was a huge improvement, and she couldn't help but be proud of herself for pulling through an unfortunate situation.<p>

"What are you daydreaming about now?" Carson asked from his spot on the blanket next to her.

"I'm not daydreaming, I'm thinking. I'm thinking that I'm happy for once and feels good."

"Good answer." He said with a smile. "We haven't looked at the stars in a while. I only do this kind of sappy thing with you, you know."

"Are you kidding? You should do this all of the time! It's amazing."

"It's not so great when I'm alone."

"That's because you're boring and I'm not." She teased.

"Yeah, I think you have that backwards." He said with a laugh. He grabbed her hand, and she wanted to let go, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings either. They just sat in silence, holding hands, and as much as she wanted to fight it, it felt very right. He made things better without even trying. He never asked her what was wrong or if she was ok because he just knew. When he thought she was having a bad day he didn't try to talk to her about it, he just did whatever he could to make it better. "Elaina McLaggen certainly doesn't think I'm boring."

"That's probably because the majority of time you spend with her, her tongue is down your throat." She joked.

"I can't help that I'm a good kisser, Molly. It's something I've been plagued with, ok? A blessing and a curse if you will."

"Oh please, Bennett. Don't flatter yourself." She said as she hit him playfully. He grabbed her hand, pulled her towards him, and tickled her. She hadn't been tickled in years, and had forgotten how powerful of a feeling it was. Her abdomen was constricting, and she couldn't breathe, making it hard to get him to stop. "Ok! I was kidding!"

"What? I can't hear you."

"Carson, please! I give!" she said as he finally stopped tickling her and began laughing himself. They laughed together until all of a sudden his lips were on hers. She hadn't been kissed in over a year, and she did not know how to react. It was nice because it was Carson, but it was also confusing for the same reason. He pulled away with the biggest smile on his face, and she felt awful for not being able to return it.

"What was that?" she asked quietly.

"That, dear, was a kiss." He said, still not letting go of his smile.

"You can't kiss me."

"Why not?" he asked sadly. There were so many reasons, she found it hard to settle on telling him just one.

"Because...we're just friends."

"Come on Molly, we aren't just friends. We never have been and we both know it. If I hadn't have been such an idiot I would have realized it sooner, and everything could have been different. I love you; I've been in love with you since I saw you looking up at the sky first year-"

"Do you hear yourself? You were in love with that Molly, Carson. I'm not her anymore. I'm not the same girl from first year, or even the same girl from last year. I seem like I have it all together, but that's a huge charade. I'm messed up and losing my mind, and you deserve better than that."

"I don't want better, I want you. Don't you get it? I love you; every silly, crazy, obnoxious part of you. Why won't you let me?" he asked, before his face turned solemn. "Do- do you not feel the same?"

"Yes, of course I do. How could you ask that? After everything you've done for me, the way you stick by me-"

"Then what's wrong? Why are you shutting me out? Why won't you just let your guard down and let me be in love with you?"

"Because!" she screamed, "The last person that I let love me, got my best friend pregnant! The last person that I let love me lied, and cheated, and made me feel like shit, then broke my heart. He said he loved me every damn day for three years and now he's playing house with another girl that he knocked up, and that's why I can't let you love me Carson. I hate him! I only get up every day because I know that if I don't, he has something over me and he wins. Do you know how pathetic I feel? I let him control me when we were together; I can't let him take everything from me and still have power over me. I don't ever want to hate you because I _do _love you. Even more than I loved him and that scares me! It makes me so mad because you didn't do anything! You're perfect, I just can't go through being hurt like that again. Ever. I won't do it."

Now she was full on crying, but it felt good to get those things off of her chest. She had never come to terms with just how much Chase had hurt her. She had tried to cover it up, and letting it all out was like ripping off a bandaid. She had just denied Carson, then dumped all of her baggage on him, and he still just held her. She would never understand why he was so good to her or why he cared so much. It was comforting, and she appreciated it.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for crying all over you. I probably look a mess."

"You look fine. I'm just glad you're finally getting this all out." He lifted her head off of his shoulder gently and wiped the tears from her eyes. She loved him, there was no mistaking that. It seemed too early to be getting in another relationship, but at the same time it felt like she was an idiot for even questioning it. This was right. It was what would have happened naturally if Chase had never come into the picture, and trying to fight it was useless.

"You still want to love me? Even though I'm still messed up because of Chase?"

"Molly, I know he hurt you badly. I saw it, and I saw what it did to you, and I want to kill him. The only reason he's still walking is because you told us not to do anything. I am not him Molly. I hate that you feel like he's messed you up, but I would never do anything to hurt you."

"You say that now-"

"And I mean it. I'd never try to change you or make you anything other than who you are because you are perfect. I know it's going to take time for me to prove it to you, but I can't even have a good chance if you don't try to let your guard down. Don't you think we deserve a chance?' he asks pleadingly. Carson Bennett deserved way more than just a chance. She could see in his eyes that he wanted this badly and she wanted it too, but she just couldn't ignore the risks. "You're probably thinking that it's too risky or that we have too much to lose, but the greatest risks bring the greatest rewards."

Being with Chase had brought up little room for risks. They were very safe, and it hadn't worked out. She had stayed with Chase for so long because it had been easy, but maybe she didn't need easy. Maybe she needed something to fight for, and someone that would fight for her. What she needed had been there all along.

"I'm scared." she practically whispered as she leaned her forehead against his.

"I know you are, but you don't have to be. Do you trust me Molly?"

"Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. I've got you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hi! This story has 200 reviews and that is just awesome! I love yall's (southern girl problems) support and reviews and that's really what keps me writing chapters! Thanks so much!**_

_**-Jazz**_


	32. Just Say Yes

"I'm running out of ways to make you see  
>I want you to stay here beside me<br>I won't be ok and I won't pretend I am  
>So just tell me today and take my hand<br>Please take my hand  
>Please take my hand"<p>

-Snow Patrol

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

"_Lily, what are you looking at?" Lex asked, making the younger girl look away from a table in the back of the room and back to her parchment. Roxy had noticed her staring, but thought it would be awkward to look and see who she was staring at._

"_Nothing." She answered unconvincingly. Roxy snuck a look back at the table Lily had been staring at, and wasn't surprised to see that it was the table Scorpius was sitting at. He looked up at Roxy briefly and was wearing a guilty expression. She really wanted to know what was up with that._

"_Did you finish the practice questions I gave you?" Lex asked. _

"_I did, but they're probably wrong. I don't get this stuff." Lily complained loudly, causing Madame Pince to shush her. Roxy couldn't help but smile at Lily, who had the patience of a rabid dog when it came to her homework. Luckily, Lex had all the patience in the world when it came to Lily, and he was able to help her out from time to time. He was so good with kids and always willing to help her family members as if they were his own, which was one of many qualities that Roxy loved about him._

"_You do get it Lily, you just keep psyching yourself out. What's your favorite subject?"_

"_I don't know. I'm a real fan of breakfast, but dinner comes in at a very close second."_

"_Be serious Lil, he's trying to help you."_

"_Fine. If I had to pick, I'd go with Defense against the dark arts I guess."_

"_Likewise. Why do you like it so much?"_

"_Because it's not hard! Something is coming at you and you just react, you know? You don't even think about what to do, you just act on…instinct I guess."_

"_Exactly! So when it comes to your other classes, don't over think it. Go with the first answer that pops into your head and nine times out of ten you'll get it right." Roxy wanted to add that she should try to be right ten out of ten times, but she figured she'd let them have their moment._

"_And you're sure this works for you?"_

"_It has for seven years, Lil. Trust me."_

"_I do trust you."_

"_Good. So trust me when I say that you should take a break-"_

"_A break? The test is tomorrow!"_

"_Cramming all night will only crowd your head and confuse you. Seriously, go find Hugo and Louis and relax. You know the material, because I taught it to you. You've got this, Lily. Take a break."_

"_Right now?"_

"_Right now." She looked at Roxy for approval, who could only nod her head and agree._

"_Fine, I'll go. But you better really think this will help and not just be trying to get rid of me so you and Roxy can snog." She said as she gathered up her things. "Thanks for the help, Lex. Bye Roxy!"_

"_Bye Lil! Good luck on your test!" she said as the girl walked away, "I can't believe you told her to go hang out with her friends the night before her test."_

"_What? It works! Only you can fill your head with 7 weeks' worth of information in 24 hours, pass the exam, and not have an aneurism. Lily's 12, she'll be fine. And a small part of me did want to get you alone so we could snog." He said as he pulled her close._

"_Snogging in the library?" she asked feigning surprise, "I thought there was a rule against that, and as Head Boy-"_

"_I think I deserve to break a rule or two." He said before kissing her soundly. This was against their usual rules concerning PDA, but Roxy couldn't help herself. She love this boy with all of her heart and found him irresistible; even when he was turning her into one of those mushy girls that snogged their boyfriend all over the school grounds._

"_If either of you were planning on coming up for air any time soon, I need a word with Senor Head Boy."_

"_Talk to him later, Dom." Roxy answered before returning to her kiss._

"_Fine. I'll just tell everyone at the next prefects meeting that I couldn't get approval on their Movie Night ideas because their Head Boy was too busy practicing his-"_

"_Alright, alright!" Lex said, "What is it?"_

"_I need you to look over these suggestions, which I think you'll be pleased with." She said, handing the parchment over to Lex. Roxy hadn't seen Dom throw herself into anything the way she had done with this movie night project. Part of her thought she was up to something, but she was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. "So, what do you think boss?"_

"_I think this is all really good, Dom. You did this on your own?"_

"_No, I called a meeting and we all started coming up with ideas and stuff. I know I should have run that by you before I called a meeting, but I figured we can't get started too early and-"_

"_Don't worry about it, I'm actually glad that you're taking it so seriously. This is all good." He said proudly. Roxy silently patted herself on the back as well, because she was the one who had suggested Lex give Dom more responsibilities and clearly it was working._

"_Thanks, I'm going to tell everyone else." Lex tried to go back to kissing her, but she put her hand over his mouth._

"_She didn't even speak to me!"_

"_So?"_

"_You seem to be making quite an impression with my cousins."_

"_You jealous?"_

"_Not at all, I've spent ample time with them over the years. I'm just saying; they really like you. The girls trust and confide in you and the boys respect and look up to you. It's really sweet that you've bonded with them."_

"_They're the people that matter most to you, and you matter most to me. What they think of me really matters and it helps that they're all good people. I don't know, I just want them to like me I guess."_

"_Well, you've succeeded. You're a good guy Lex Alvarez."_

"_Behind every great man there's an even better woman. You're an amazing girl, Roxanne Weasley." It was hard not to feel like the luckiest girl in the world when you had a boyfriend that said things like that. They hadn't had any major fights, he hadn't turned out to be obsessive or crazy, and she didn't want to jinx herself but they were perfect. She could picture herself growing old with him and having a huge elegant wedding where all of their friends and family could see them get married and start lives together. She could picture them buying a house in the country and raising a family with love and Quidditch like she was. It all made her wonder if he ever thought about those sorts of things, or if he even wanted to be with her for the rest of his life._

"_Do you think we'll be together forever?" she asked suddenly._

"_Well I'm certainly not going anywhere. I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

* * *

><p>That day had long passed, and things around Hogwarts had been a little off lately. There was a lot of end of the year fever going around and Roxy's friends had definitely caught it the worst. She couldn't go 5 minutes without hearing about how someone couldn't wait to leave Hogwarts or was ready to go out into the real world and it was extremely annoying. They acted like being here was the worst thing that had ever happened to them, and she just didn't see how anyone could feel that way. She even banned talking from this study session for fear of Molly or Lex complaining that the work was too hard and going on another rant about graduating. Roxy honestly wasn't even studying, she just needed the quiet.<p>

"Lex, we have to go soon." Molly said suddenly, interrupting their silence.

"Where do you guys have to go?"

"The seventh years have a meeting about graduation stuff tonight. Lex, you didn't tell her that?"

"It slipped my mind."

"What? You organized it." Molly said, obviously not catching that Lex didn't want Roxy to know that.

"Why are you organizing graduation stuff in January? Are you that excited to get out of here?"

"Yes." They answered at the same time.

"I feel like this last year is dragging by so slowly, it isn't even funny anymore. All I've ever wanted is to be a seventh year and Head Boy, but this year is just the worst."

"It's kind of like they are just keeping us caged in this place. Seven years is such an awkward time to be in school, I just want to be an adult already and have my own job and money and stuff."

"Same here."

"You know what?" Roxy snapped, "Maybe you two should just graduate early and get out of here as soon as you can if it sucks so bad." She didn't mean to get an attitude with them, but they were being ridiculous. School wasn't that bad.

"Maybe we should. Hey Molly, you want to just take the N.E.W.T's tonight after the meeting?" Lex joked.

"Do you think we could arrange that?" Molly joked back, "Between the two of us I know we could pull a string or two."

"For the love of Merlin, would you two shut up? Some of us actually have to study."

"Wait, are you actually mad?"

"Yes, I am." She said as she gathered her things and walked out of the common room. The two of them didn't have to act so funny about it. It was like they didn't care one bit that when they got out of here, they'd be leaving her behind.

"Wait! Roxy, hold up! Can we talk about thi?"

"Why? I thought you had a meeting to get to."

"Screw the meeting, I want to know what's going on. You've been acting crazy lately."

"So I'm crazy now?"

"No! You're not being yourself, though. You're hostile, grouchy, and pretty easily agitated; I try to give you space and you say I'm ignoring you, but if I'm around for more than a second I'm smothering you. I'm at odds here; I don't know what to do."

"Well if I'm so unbearable, why don't you just break up with me then?" she said it with as much seriousness as she could muster, but he didn't even flinch.

"Don't do that, Roxy. Don't try to say crazy things to get me to go away because if you think that's going to work, you haven't learned a thing about me. Do you really mean that?" he asked, staring at her with those hazel eyes. It was more of a challenge than a question, and it bothered Roxy that he knew he was right about this. She never should have said that.

"Ugh, no. Just leave me alone and go to your stupid meeting alright? We'll talk later."

She turned around and continued walking towards the dungeons, leaving Lex standing there. She felt bad for acting like such a brat but she was just fed up with the whole situation. She and Lex were "the perfect couple" and they would be "together forever." She thought that all of the idiotic people that had filled her head with such nonsense should all just go to hell. Right now she needed to talk to one friend that would tell it like it is, and not fill her head with impossible hopes. The only problem was that to reach this friend, she needed to get inside of the Slytherin Common Room, and she had no idea how to do that. She knocked on a brass figure that she assumed to be a door knocker and a creepy voice answered.

"Password." The thing called out, without even saying please. She had no clue what kind of password they'd have down here, but she could guess that it probably wasn't something normal.

"Impending doom?" she joked. She was happy to see the door swing open, but it was only because Goyle came walking out at that moment. "Wow! Just the person I needed to see."

"I would assume so, unless you've made some new friends you haven't told me about. So what can I do for you?"

"I just need to talk to someone, and you used to be my go to guy."

"Yeah, that was before Lex Alvarez became your go to guy. We haven't talked in what seems like ages."

"That's not true, I say hello any time I see you!"

"That's not that often, but I won't hold it against you. I'm sure if I found a guy that made me that happy I'd spend a good bit of my time with them too. But what do you want to talk about?"

"Actually, it's about Lex." She said, feeling guilty. She had pretty much neglected him in a time when he could really use a friend, and the one time she had come to talk to him it was about the guy that she had pretty much replaced him with. She really hadn't thought this one through.

"Oh. Trouble in paradise?"

"Not yet."

"I don't follow. Most people don't anticipate to have problems with their boyfriends-"

"I know that, but this is different. I mean, I love him a lot. Like, so much that it literally consumes me sometimes and I just feel like I'm floating or walking on clouds or something. I never thought I could feel this way about anyone but I do, and it just so happens to be Lex Alvarez."

"Then why are you upset?"

"Because I just don't see how this feeling could last forever like everyone else does. I hated him at first, but then he won me over because he really is charming and sweet, but he's leaving soon! It doesn't help that he's just ants in his pants anxious to get as far away from Hogwarts as soon as possible. When he graduates and leaves, it'll just be me here in this safe little Hogwarts bubble, and he'll be out in the world doing amazing things and meeting other great people. I just don't see how I compare to all the great things he'll be tempted with once he leaves." She hated to admit it, but she felt pretty insecure about what next year had in store for them. Here, people knew not to cross her when it came to Lex, but there would be millions of girls lining up to try and get his attention, and Roxy would have no way of knowing what was going on. She didn't want to be some ball and chain that he drug around forever because he felt obligated.

"I get what you're saying, but you have to realize that you and Lex aren't just any old teenage couple. The chemistry you guys have is kind of like what I see with people like your parents and Scorpius' parents. It's like you guys were perfectly made for each other, and no one benefits more or less than the other. You make him better, and he takes care of you. You helped him become this guy that no one ever thought he could be, and in return he loves you and treats you the way a girl like you should. You guys will be fine."

"You really think that's true? I'm asking you to be completely honest, don't just try to placate me."

"A little year apart won't do anything to the pair of you; you can quote me on that. And don't try to create problems because you think you should have them. That's possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Roxy couldn't help but laugh; that was definitely high on list of worst ideas ever. Goyle got this dumb look on his face and stared off at the hall way. Roxy turned around and was surprised to see that Lex had come down looking for her. "You two are gonna go the distance Roxy. I know it."

"Thanks." She said as she gave him a huge hug. She had to do better about keeping in touch with him. It was his last year too.

"Hey Goyle."

"Hey Alvarez. Sorry I missed your meeting, I was on my way when an old friend stopped by for a chat."

"No problem. Do you think I could steal her from you for a second though?"

"Sure. Thanks for stopping by Weasley, I'll see you around." He said as he walked off. Roxy noticed that he was going toward the Ravenclaw Tower, but she would have to ask him about that later. There was an awkward silence between her and Lex that she had never experienced before. She hated feeling uncomfortable around him, and wished that this whole argument could be over.

"I've been acting really stupid and said something awful earlier that I didn't mean at all. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, I was acting like a brat."

"Well, I'm apologizing for doing whatever I did to make you act that way. Do you mind me asking what I did though? Just for future reference."

"You didn't do anything, yet. I was just getting so sick of you and everyone else talking about how excited you are to leave school. I know you all are moving on and growing up, but I'm not excited that any of you are leaving to be honest. You, Molly, Carson, Goyle, everyone I'm close to is a seventh year now and when you guys leave I'll be alone." She confessed. It was no secret that Roxy was like an honorary member of the class older than her. She hardly had any friends in her year, and her family was the only people she knew younger than her. That was going to make for one sad last year.

"You can write any of us whenever you want, and you'll have Christmas break with us-"

"But it won't be the same. You guys will get to have fancy jobs or internships, live in cool flats and apartments, go to bars and pubs, meet exciting new people. I'll be here doing childish things like writing papers, studying for N.E.W.T.'s, looking after my cousins, being a prefect. It just seems to me like there's a whole world out there and it's just me here, and I don't want you to miss out on anything because you're worrying about me. I guess I was trying to distance myself from you now, so it wasn't so hard to deal with next year when you're really gone."

"You know, not many girls try to break up with their boyfriend so he can go off and have a good time on his own."

"I know, it's stupid-"

"No, it's not. It's actually one of the reasons I love you. You really want me to enjoy life when I leave here, even if that means you breaking up with me and being here alone. The fact that you would think to do that, even though it's not happening, is really sweet. I just need you to know that I don't care about fancy clubs, or new girls, or any of that stuff. I care about you and you're the only person I want to be with. I'm not sure what I'll be doing next year, but I'm sure of that. I'm the one that should be worried. With me gone, you'll be surrounded by the blokes that literally used to fight for your affections."

"They mean nothing to me. Everyone knows how I feel about you and they wouldn't dare cross me on that subject."

"Well, maybe we should give them a little reminder of how I feel about you, just in case they forget.' He said as he started digging around in his pockets.

"What are you doing, Lex?"

"I was going to wait until Valentine's Day, but that's kind of cheesy, and this is the perfect moment."

"For what?" she asked, as he pulled out a black velvety box and got down on one knee. She immediately started hyperventilating, not sure if he was about to really do what it looked like. He opened the box and revealed a ring with a gold band that twisted into an intricate looking knot at the top. It was probably the prettiest piece of jewelry she had ever seen and even though she loved Lex, she was relieved to see that it wasn't an engagement ring.

"Roxy, I could list a million reasons why I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I think it would take less time to tell that without you, I couldn't be me. We have something really special here, and even though we'll be apart for a while, nothing can change the way I feel. I'm not asking you to marry me right now, but this is something close to that. This ring is a promise; a promise to you that I will love you and only you forever." He slid the ring on her finger and she smiled at the perfect fit. She knew they were young, but it was hard to not feel like they were going to make it.

"You want to marry me some day?"

"No. I'm going to marry you some day. When the time is right of course."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself there." She teased. "How do you know I'll still be available?" He answered her question with a kiss, the same kiss that always made her knees weak and her stomach flutter. He pulled away, satisfied that he could practically turn her to jelly.

"I like my chances." He said with a smirk. "Just know that one day I'm going to ask you a question, and all you have to do is say yes."

"That's it? I think I can remember that. But you have to promise to really enjoy next year. Obviously I want you to keep your hormones in check, but don't hold back because of me. Meet a bunch of cool people, and go out with your friends on the weekends, get wasted and tell me all the stories of the fun things you do. Just have a good time, ok?"

"I will, I promise. Then in a year you'll graduate, and you have to promise to do the same. Just because you graduate and you'll be away from here, don't let me ruin your good time." She hadn't really thought that far ahead, but she could agree that it was only fair.

"I promise."

"Great. Can we get out of these dungeons now? It's creeping me out."

"Fine, you big baby. I've got to patrol with Dom anyway."

"What idiot put you two together again?"

"You did. Today we're going to give out detentions to all of Teddy's least favorite students on the same day. He's going to be pissed."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." He said before kissing her on the cheek and. "Have fun, I'm going to go find Carson."

"Bye!" She watched him walk away before taking a second look at her ring. She still wasn't thrilled about being here alone next year, but she figured it might not be as bad as she thought. But for right now, she just wanted to enjoy the people in her life for the short time that they would still be together.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Gotta_**_ **love Roxy and Lex!**_


	33. Till The End Of Time

"Come take my hand  
>I won't let you go<br>I'll be your friend  
>I will love you so, deeply<br>I will be the one to kiss you at night  
>I will love you until the end of time"<p>

-Beyonce

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_"Alexis Thomas! I need to get in that bathroom!" Vic yelled from outside. Lena had been on a very strict sleeping schedule and would wake up any second. If Vic didn't get in that bathroom now, she may never be able to brush her teeth or even look at herself until lunch time when Lena took her nap. Vic had heard her mom and all of her aunts complain about having no time to themselves when they had kids, but Vic really hadn't been prepared to sacrifice her usually perfect hygiene. She laughed at the thought of the days when she would meticulously plan out her outfits weeks in advance; these days, she was lucky if she could find matching socks or do more than run her fingers through her hair. The door swung open and revealed Lexie looking as prim and proper as she did the day they first met._

_"Seriously, I don't know why you're freaking out. It's all yours." She ran into the bathroom and splashed her face with water before squirting some toothpaste on her finger and running it over her teeth quickly. She was all ready to go, but the running of the water made her have to use the bathroom. She could ignore it, but then she'd just have to hold in until lunch time, and that was just ridiculous. Just as she sat down, she heard Lena wake up and cry. Great._

_"I got her!" Lexie yelled, as Vic finished up and washed her hands. She was thankful for Lexie's presence. Without her, Vic would be doing this solo, and the mere thought of it exhausted her. She brushed her hair up into a bun and headed for the bedroom, where Lexie was bouncing up and down trying to reduce the babies cries. "Look! There's your mommy!"_

_"Da da?" she asked. Teddy had been ecstatic when she told him Lena had been calling for him, too bad it was the only thing she felt inclined to say._

_"No, it's ma ma! Can you say ma ma?"_

_"Da da!" she squealed happily, as she kicked Lexie's sides._

_"Well, I'm off to work." Lexie said right before Lena spit up all over her work robes. Of course, because everything is funny to 7 month olds, Lena laughed like it was the silliest thing in the world. "Great."_

"_It's nothing a swish and a flick can't fix," Vic said, as she reached for her wand and cleared the mess from her friend's clothes._

"_Ugh, thanks. But this reminds me, I sort of need to talk to you about something because I don't know when I'll be back today."_

_"Please don't tell me you're pregnant."_

"_Heck no! It's just….you know you're my best friend in the whole universe, and I love you and Lena and Teddy to pieces, but this is a mad house. You guys' bathroom is broken, there's a crying baby, it's a mess in here all of the time, it's tiny, I just don't think our living situation is working out anymore."_

_"Well I know it's not like we had imagined our dream bachelorette pad to be when we were younger, but __I don't think you should move out, though."_

_"Oh! No, I'm not moving out. I was saying you should." Vic looked at Lena, who didn't seem as offended by the suggestion as she did._

_"Are you kicking me out?"_

_"Of course not. I'm just suggesting you get a place of your own with Teddy and Lena. We don't have to figure anything out now, I just wanted to run it by you. I'll see you later though, I've really got to get to work." Vic watched in shock as her best friend sauntered out of the room and left for work. She couldn't believe Lexie was asking her, the woman with a new baby, to move out. It's not like Vic wanted to stay in the tiny flat forever, but she thought that things had been going well enough. Sure, they'd been sharing a bathroom lately, and there were usually toys everywhere, and it wasn't the most calm setting ever, but they were like a little family. It's not like Lexie ever had company over or anything, but then again a mom and a baby weren't really the best party hosts. She guessed that if she was your average 22 year old girl living the single life, she'd want to have a place of her own too._

_"Should we let Auntie Lexie have this place to herself Lena?" she asked, "Think we should talk to your daddy about it?"_

_"Da da!" she squealed at a decibel that Vic was surprised she could register at this time of morning. But the kid had a point. She'd discuss it with Teddy whenever she got a chance, even though she was pretty sure he'd say they couldn't afford it. It couldn't hurt to put the thought into his mind, and she did think it was time they had a nice house. Most people their age were sharing flats, but most people their age weren't parents either. He had to agree to it. _

_She was about to go make breakfast for Lena, but the doorbell rang, interrupting her. This was a surprise, considering they rarely had visitors. She ran by the mirror to make sure she looked halfway decent. But when she began to smooth her hair, Lena tugged on the bun and made all of her hair fall in her face. "Da da!"_

_"Thanks Lena, that was very nice of you." she said as she blew her hair out of her eyes went to the door. "Who is it?"_

_"Your fairy god mother." A deep voice answered. "Who do you think? It's Xavier Alvarez." She swung open the door, confused by her friend's presence. _

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm here to watch Lena for you during your shift at the hospital, like I do every Tuesday. You're not dressed yet; you're going to be late."_

_"No I'm not, because it's not Tuesday. It's Monday."_

_"You poor thing. It's Tuesday, I swear on my mother's life." He pulled out his work schedule from the hospital and showed her that it was, in fact, Tuesday._

_"I have total mommy brain right now, I can't even remember when I'm supposed to go to work. Forget it, I'm just going to call off. I seriously need to get myself together."_

_"That's understandable. I'll just get out of your hair, then."_

_"Wait!" she screamed, before he was able to get too far out of the door. "Would it be completely selfish of me to ask you to stay for a bit? I know it's your day off and you have things to do, but I feel like I haven't slept in years and-"_

_"Victoire, I'll stay. It's no problem. I'll watch Lenny and call St. Mungo's for you; you just get some rest, alright?"_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Go. Now. I won't say it again." She gave Lena a kiss on the cheek and handed her off to Xavier without another protest. She never got naps_, _and this one was much needed. No matter how sleep deprived she was, she could never nap longer than 20 minutes but every second counted these days. When her body woke her up, she didn't even try to fight it and sleep any longer.__Though it was only a short nap, she woke up feeling__like a new woman. It was simply amazing what a nap can do, and now she felt like she could run the mommy marathon for at least a month before she would need another nap. She walked into the living room and saw Lena and Xavier laying on the floor just staring at each other. She couldn't help but laugh at how innocent he looked and how mischevious her daughter looked. She definitely got her personality from the Weasley side, but she was all Teddy when it came to looks._

_"She really is something, Vic. It's amazing."_

_"She's got a big sense of humor already. You should see me trying to get her to say ma ma. It's like she looks at me and smirks and calls for Teddy. She thinks it's hilarious."_

_"Well she sees you more, so I guess she figures she doesn't have to say it."_

_"That doesn't mean I'm any less jealous about it. But in her defense, it's easier to say da da anyway. I'll be patient."_

"_I can't wait to hear what my child's first word is."_

"_Your child? You don't even have a girlfriend, do you?"_

"_No, but I'm working on it. Lena's great, and I have no problem helping you out, but I may have had ulterior motives to agreeing to this arrangement."_

"_Are you talking about_ _Lexie?! What the hell? Are you guys dating?"_

"_Kind of. We've gone out a few times and I like her, but she's being weird about actually calling it dating. She only kept it from you because she didn't really know how to say it without making it seem like I was using Lena to get to her."_

"_Well, I could care less about how you got together, I'm just wondering if this is why she wants me to move out. Maybe she wants to start something more serious with you." Vic said as she waggled her wye brows._

"_You did hear me say we were "kind of" dating right? I wouldn't say anything too serious is happening right now."_

"_I know, but it would be cool for her to be in a relationship at the same time as me. That's never happened. It would be even cooler if she could get pregnant and our kids could be best friends like us. I love being a mom and I know Lexie would be great at it."_

_"Do you love it more than you love being a healer?"_

_"Yes. Without a doubt, yes. I wanted to be a healer all of my life. I wanted to grow up and be just like my mom and help people, but then I found out I was pregnant and it changed everything. I wish I could say that I was instantly thrilled about it, but it took a while to get used to the idea. At first I thought it was just going to be the worst thing and it would take away my life or something, but I love being home and watching her grow up. I love it, I just didn't imagine I'd be doing it alone."_

_"I know it's not saying much, but I think you're doing a fine job."_

_"I just wish Ted was here to help, or relieve me sometimes."_

_"Pardon me if I'm being rude, but why didn't he take any time off of work?"_

_"There's a lot of reasons, but mainly because he loves his job, and with me not getting paid as an intern, it's our only real source of income. He doesn't want to ask our parents, or just use up the money from the trusts in our Gringott's accounts."_

_"Well, what do you want?"_

_"Me? I don't know what you mean."_

_"You. You talk about Teddy and Lena non stop, and I'm just curious what you want for yourself?" That was a good question. She hadn't thought about what she wanted in a very long time._

* * *

><p>This had been one of the most relaxing weekends Vic had had in a long had woken up later than usual, no one was rushing to get ready for work, and she was surrounded by good people. She, Lexie, and Lena had been lounging around as usual, and Xavier had come over to "play with Lena." Vic really wished he didn't use her daughter as code for hooking up with Lexie, but at least Lexie had been in a better mood because of him and hadn't pushed her on the moving thing. Plus, Xavier had more energy than necessary all of the time, and Lena really did enjoy being with a lot of people that she could babble to and scream at and play with.<p>

"I'm thinking of getting a new comforter." Lexie said randomly. "Mine is too girly."

"You are a girl, though."

"No. I'm a woman Alvarez, and I don't want a pink comforter with hearts and butterflies on it. My bed practically matches Lena's crib; it's childish."

"I don't know, I like your bed. It's comfortable." he answered.

"How do you know what my best friends bed looks like Alvarez?" Vic asked, causing Lexie to blush. Vic couldn't help but laugh at her best friend's embarrassment, and Lena laughed along with her. "Don't be embarrassed Lexie, I know what's been going on here between the two of you."

"But how?" she asked. Xavier was shaking his head at Vic, so she decided not to tell her that Xavier had told.

"Let's just say, Lena doesn't get her heavy sleeping from me." she joked. The three adults laughed, and Vic couldn't remember the last time she'd had a good laugh.

"Well on that very awkward note, I'm going to go to the loo. I should use Lexie's right?"

"Nope, hers is broken now, mine is working. Just go in my room." she said as he made his way towards her room. She really hoped Lexie got over her fear of commitment soon, because Xavier was a great guy. He was charming, sweet, liked kids, and could keep up with Lexie's high expectations and high maintenance lifestyle. "Why don't you guys just date already? He's just like your dad, joking around and doting on you and stuff. Aren't you the one that said you wanted a guy like your dad?"

"Yes, but-"

"And Alvarez spoils you just like your dad does for Parvati. Seriously, your dad is whipped."

"Well, the Thomas men love hard. You can't blame him for wanting to spoil my mom a little."

"A little?"

"Fine, a lot. Is Teddy really a heavy sleeper, though? Because I swear sometimes he gives me the weirdest looks after-"

"Da da!" Lena screamed happily, kicking her feet up and down in the air.

"Yes, you're a heavy sleeper like daddy."

"No! Da da!" she squealed, looking upset. "No! Da da! Da da!" She crawled at a scarily fast pace towards the window, and sure enough, there was Teddy fumbling with his keys at the door. Vic squealed like a school girl at the sight of her husband and best friend, and scooped Lena off of the ground before unlocking the door and throwing herself into Teddy's arms. Just the smell of his cologne and toothpaste was enough to drive her crazy, not to mention the strong grip he held on her while they embraced. Lena was positively content snuggled between her parents' hug, and was practically bouncing in Vic's arms. "Da da!"

"Hello Lena!" he said happily. Luckily he dropped his bags before she jumped out of Vic's arms and into her father's. They had that move in perfect sync now, and it filled both of their eyes with joy. Vic loved the bond that Teddy had with their daughter. It was one that she had always wanted with her dad, but he had always favored Dominique. Vic was glad that they were so close, even if she did feel a little jealous sometimes. "And hello to you, Tori." he said as he kissed her on the cheek. It amazed her that after all these years, Teddy could still make her blush without even trying.

"Hi. Come on in, do you want some tea or something?"

"No, I don't need anything but the two of you. And now I've got you."

"Well that sucks. I thought you had made the long journey home to see me." Lexie said, peeking around the corner. She laughed at her joke and gave Teddy a hug, before giving Vic a look that she didn't exactly understand. The two had been best friends for almost ten years, but they still hadn't mastered the mind reading thing. This look either meant that Lexie had to go to the bathroom, or that something was wrong. Vic realized it was the latter when Xavier came waltzing out of Teddy and Vic's bedroom, still fastening his pants. That probably looked really really bad.

"What's he doing here?"

"This is Xavier Alvarez-"

"I know who he is Lexie, I want to know why he's here." Vic had never seen Teddy so rude and menacing before, especially to a guest.

"Just spending a nice day with the girls. It's nice to see you again mate. I haven't seen you since I graduated." He said, extending his hand for a handshake. Teddy looked like the guy's hand was covered in needles.

"Alright then. Xavier, why don't the two of us go for ice cream and let these two have a moment?" she said as she dragged Xavier out of the door. Vic wanted to apologize on behalf of her husband, but it didn't seem like the right time. He was known for jumping to conclusions, and there was no telling what he believed had gone on between Vic and Xavier. A weird silence fell between the two adults, who hadn't moved from their spot in the tiny foyer. It was awkward, to say the least, but at least there was the constant sound of Lena's gurgling and babbling. Vic turned to go clean, or sleep, or do anything but listen to herself breathe, but Teddy's voice interrupted her escape.

"Xavier Alvarez?" he asked, in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Nothing is going on with us if that's what you mean. Our shifts at St. Mungo's are practically opposites, so he comes over and watches Lena on those days, or whenever she's not at my mum's or Ginny's."

"He watches our daughter?" he asked softly, but with a little more edge to it. "Alone?'

"Yes. Do you prefer I enlist an entire army to watch her instead?"

"Are you paying him?"

"No. He does it because he wants to. And your picky daughter seems to get on with him well, which is saying a lot for her."

"Is he even qualified Victoire?"

"He's a healer." she answered, though Teddy still looked unconvinced. "He's a few years ahead of me in the program, top of his year, and trains under Cho in the pre-natal ward. Would you like his grades from Hogwarts too?"

"I just want to make sure that my daughter isn't being handed off to any random Joe on the street."

"She's not." A few short minutes ago they were hugging in the door way, and now they were have a calm, but equally annoying argument in the middle of the hallway. She hadn't expected him to be so cranky and agitated. But then again, she hadn't been expecting him at all.

"Has he ever slept over?"

"With Lexie; not that it's really any of our business. And before you get all red in the face, they don't do that on the days he watches Lena. Seriously, everything's fine. You're acting like a jealous child."

"Well maybe I am jealous. Did you ever think about that?"

"No, I didn't think about that because we're married with a baby, so I'm pretty committed to you. You're really jealous of someone that's sleeping with Lexie?"

"No, I'm jealous of some guy waltzing around my house in t-shirts that's are two sizes too small, getting close to my wife and daughter, and using my bathroom!" Lena had never seen him like that, and it had been a long time since Vic had seen him this way as well. Luckily, Lena found the fact that her father's hair had turned red at the tips to be highly amusing, but Vic knew that meant that he was insanely mad. Vic had received a letter from Louis explaining that Teddy had been crabby and overbearing lately, but she had thought that was just Louis being dramatic or something. Obviously there was something bigger going on here, but first, she needed to figure out why he was even home in the first place.

"What are you doing home?"

"Would you like me to go back?"

"No! Can you stop acting like a dick?"

"There's a baby in the room." he said as he covered Lena's ears.

"Oh, is there? _Is_ there a baby in the room Teddy? I wouldn't know that, because I don't spend every second feeding her, changing her, watching her, and putting my needs aside for her. I had no idea that there is a baby present in my life Teddy. None at all."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Whatever, let's just get out of the freaking hallway." she said as she walked into their tiny kitchen. When she pulled out a chair to sit in, she knocked over a shelf containing pictures of them when they were younger. She couldn't help but snicker as Teddy stubbed his toe on a leg of the kitchen table and tried to refrain from cursing. The small space, mixed with her and Teddy's fight, had pushed her over the edge. There was something else they needed to discuss, and though this may not be the best time, it was a conversation that needed to be had. "What do you think about a house?"

"I love houses." he answered as he strapped Lena into her high chair. "What do you think about them?"

"I think that we should get one."

"Vic, we can't afford that-"

"We can more than afford a house, Teddy. Have you checked either of our Gringott's accounts lately?"

"Oh, you mean the one that my parents left money in, and the trust that your parents have been adding to since you were born? Yeah actually, I have taken a look. With our parents' money we can more than afford anything!"

"What's the difference Teddy?! Honestly! You're being so stubborn!" she screamed, forcing Lena to cry. She leaned over to pick her up but Teddy got there first.

"I've got it." he said as he stormed out of the kitchen and into their bedroom. There was no way he could still be this wound up about the money situation. She was all for what's mine is yours, and if he wanted to keep holding onto his forever that was fine, but who was he to tell her that she couldn't spend the money her parents gave her on a house for her family? Sure, they hadn't exactly worked for the money they had, but it was painfully obvious that they needed more space to live in. The fact that he couldn't see that was extremely frustrating, and his attitude was not helping.

She and Teddy rarely fought. Maybe that was because he was rarely home, but it didn't matter. There were times when she would be mad at him, and vice versa, but they had never both been screaming at each other at the same time. It was like he came in the door unhappy and unappreciative and unannounced, and she didn't like that. Being married was hard, and being parents was hard, but doing that and being separated by thousands of miles was even harder. Teddy chatted with them through the floo and through owls, and he was really good about it, but that just didn't seem like enough. She just couldn't find it her heart to ask him to stay home, because she felt selfish for taking tat from him. Sometimes though, she just felt like she did everything, and he got to sit at Hogwarts and tell her how much he wished he was there. In a week, Teddy had to play the roles of a teacher, a dad, and a husband. Victoire felt like in one day she could be a mom, a wife, a teacher, a doctor, a chef, and a maid. It was exhausting, and she hadn't told Teddy about it because she didn't want to stress him out. So for him to show up out of nowhere with no explanation and downplay all she did, there was no excuse for that. He still treated her like the little girl that used to follow him around and get on his nerves. She had calmed down a considerable amount, and decided to go talk to Teddy and have a mature, adult conversation.

She walked into their room with vengeance in mind, but couldn't help but go soft when she saw Teddy watching Lena sleep. It was something she definitely took for granted, because he never got to see it. Seeing them together made her happy, even though she was still pissed about how he had acted earlier. He was going to have to learn that now that they were married, they made decisions together. He couldn't just shut down all of her ideas because he thought his was better. If he keeps that up, they'll have a world of troubles. He looked up at her and she could tell that the fight was over. She has missed him so much, but he was so annoying sometimes, and he was so cute. She just couldn't deal with it. He scooted over on the bed and motioned for her to lay with him and Lena on the bed. She laid down and looked Teddy straight in the eye before speaking.

"I don't like it when you yell at me. Especially when I did nothing wrong."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm just really stressed and I know that's no excuse to act the way I did. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"No, you shouldn't have. I don't like fighting with you Teddy, and I certainly don't like you treating me that way in front of our daughter."

"I know, and I don't want her to see me like that. I don't like fighting with you either, Tori. Trust me, I hate it..."

"But?"

"But I don't think we need a house."

"And I think we do." She said firmly. "Honey, I love this flat because it's the first place we shared together and we've made memories here, but it's not our home. It's too small for us, not to mention Lexie, who can't even have friends over because of the baby and her crabby mom. Lena's been crawling around, breaking things and getting into trouble, and she's getting too big for this place. We're married Teddy and we are starting a family; I feel like we need our own space." He pinched the bridge of his nose and she could sense that he was breaking down. He wasn't sold until he cracked his neck, but pinching the bridge of his nose meant she was going in the right direction.

"And how are we going to pay for it? With the money that our parents have stocked up for us?"

"Why do you have to look at it like it's some sort of crutchThey gave us the money. Its not theirs, it's ours."

"I get that, and I want to give you everything you want, but I want to be the one that does it. I'm your husband, I want you to be able to count on me and know that I can provide for you. You shouldn't have to run to your parents every time you need something because I can't give it to you."

"If we don't spend that money on a house, what are we going to spend it on?" she asked teasingly.

"You can go shopping with it."

"I'm not shopping until I get my body back."

"I love your body. We could also give the money to a charity."

"We'd have to start a new organization to find a place that we aren't already donating to. Listen, I'm not asking for the Tahj Mahal, or a house the size of the Potter estate or Grimmauld Place, but can't you just imagine the three of us in a small little house with a yard that Lena can play in and a little kitchen for us to bake in, and a huge, King sized bed for us to-"

"Expand our family in?"

"Exactly. Just think about it. We can stay there for a few years, and then when we're older and a little more financially stable, you are welcome to buy me the biggest house you see and I swear I'll let you pay for the whole thing. We can fill it with as many kids and books as you want." He sighed deeply before cracking his neck and giving her the smile that she was used to seeing on his face. He then narrowed his eyes, signaling that she had gotten her way.

"You'll let me buy you whatever I want?"

"I promise, I won't stop you." she said, glad that they weren't fighting anymore. She was glad about the house too, but this was even better.

"I think I want to take a leave of absence." he said suddenly, "I said, I think I want-"

"No, I heard what you said, I'm just waiting for you to say you're kidding."

"I'm not. I should never have gone back and left you and Lena here alone. Lena's my first child, and I don't want Xavier Alvarez having all of the moments that I'm supposed to have with her."

"What about Hogwarts? You know I support you in every single thing you do, but I need to know that you actually want to take time off and that you aren't just doing it because you're jealous of Xavier Alvarez."

"Hogwarts will be there. This is my family; it's more important right now."

"You still never told me why you're here. I'm really glad to see you, but are you allowed to just leave like that? Is this permanent?"

"Don't worry, I haven't gone AWOL or anything. I just needed a break. Work is driving me crazy, and I needed to get away and try to remember why I wanted to be a teacher so badly in the first place. I know I want to finish out the year, I'm just not sure about after that."

"Well what would you do if you weren't teaching?"

"Well you kind of gave me an idea earlier. You said we'd have to create a new organization to find a charity that we aren't already donating to, right? Maybe we can."

"What kind of organization?"

"Well, you know how I'm always thanking Harry for taking me in and letting me be a part of this family? I can't thank him enough, because I see what happens when kids are left to their own devices in the Wizarding World and it isn't good. I think about myself, and Harry, and even some of the things that I've heard about Scorpius and Linden, and how we all turned out ok because we had someone to help us through a rough time. Some kids just don't have that, and it's really sad to see. There's also the kids that can't afford books, and are teased and picked on. That could have been me, and I always wish there was something I can do, but usually the kids are to old or prideful to want my help. I guess I'm thinking of starting a orphanage for young kids here in London. I can take in magical kids that were abandoned by their parents, or are living under less than satisfactory circumstances and give them a place to stay, and the guidance they need until their old enough to go to Hogwarts. Or maybe we could have a school there too; that way I could still teach. I don't know, it's just an idea."

"Are you kidding? That's brilliant. Think of all of the kids out there that don't even know that they can do magic, or all of the kids that that are cut off from their families and have nowhere to go. I think it's a great idea, and I think you're the perfect person to make it happen. And I'm not just saying that because I miss you." She could admit that was part of the reason she loved his idea, but mostly she just loved that he was so caring and willing to help others. He was a great guy, and he was all hers.

"I think I can do it."

"I know you can. Aren't you the godson od the chosen one? You can do anything."

"I love you, Vic. Always have, always will."

"And I will always love you back even more, and then some. Even when you're being a cranky, mad, jealous git."

"Aw, you're too kind. You know what we haven't done in a while?" he asked, narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice in the way that drove her crazy. He tried to reach over and kiss her, but like clock work, Lena woke up and began to kick her legs excitedly and scream da da at the top of her lungs. "Wow, this kids got awful timing."

"She gets that from you, honey. Isn't that right Lenny? Why's your timing so awful?" she asked in the crazy baby voice that she never thought she used.

"Da da!" squealed at the top of her lungs, making Vic laugh.

"That's my girl."


	34. I'm Not Calling You A Liar

"I'm not calling you a liar,  
>Just don't lie to me.<br>I'm not calling you a theif,  
>Just don't steal from me,<br>I'm not calling you a ghost,  
>Just stop haunting me,<br>And i'll love you so much,  
>I'm gonna let you,<br>Kill me."

-Florence + The Machine

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_There was a point in time when Al could say that he and Rose were best friends, practically twins. He used to know her inside and out, and could tell when something was wrong with her before she even got a chance to process the feelings. He always knew what her plans were or where she was, because they used to do everything together. Now, things were very different. He had been dating Reid for a while, and hadn't had much one on one time with Rose. Whenever he and Reid weren't together, she seemed to be busy, which recently meant she was off somewhere with Zack Longbottom. He hadn't confirmed that they had been "seeing" each other, but he had a little evidence to support his theory. _

_Firstly, Zack had asked to have a chat wither a few months ago, which would be really weird if the two had never spoken before. Two, He caught Zack sitting at the table Rose usually used in the library. If that wasn't weird enough, he had been using her Ancient Runes text book and the seat across from him had been pulled out as if someone else had been sitting there before. Lastly, Scorpius had found a parchment with Zack's name on it in her book sack. That couldn't have just gotten there accidentally. It was all just really weird, and Al wanted answers. He seemed to always be in the dark about everything._

"_Hey Rose?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You know I'm not the brightest when it comes to relationships or understanding people's feelings, but I've been getting some weird vibes lately and I'm not sure how to handle it."_

"_Is this about Reid?" she asked. "You guys are getting on ok, right?"_

"_No, Reid and I are fine. This is about her brother."_

"_Zack? What about him?"_

"_It's actually about you and him. Up until recently, the two of you had never even spoken, then one day he comes up to us like the two of you have been best mates for years and ever since then you spend a lot of time with him. You always tell us you're doing other things, but I have a feeling you're sneaking off to see him."_

"_What's your point?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean, what is your point in bringing this up, Albus? So what if I have been going to spend time with Zack Longbottom?" she challenged, with a fierce look in her eye that he'd seen many times from her mother. "It's my time, and I should be able to spend it how I please, don't you think?"_

"_I think we at least need to talk about it, then. You don't talk about anything to me anymore if it isn't about homework; we used to tell each other everything."_

"_There's nothing to tell."_

"_So you aren't dating him?"_

"_No. He and I just study on Sunday afternoons."_

"_Well that covers Sunday, what about every other day of the week? What do you see in him?"_

"_I don't have to explain to you why I choose to associate with certain people. What I see in him is my business, and I would expect you to trust my judgment."_

"_He's a jerk!"_

"_No, he's not. Not with me, at least and that's what really matters."_

"_So you do fancy him?"_

"_He's easy to talk to Al, that's all. We're not dating, and I don't want to argue with you about it, so we can drop this conversation. Aren't we supposed to be working on a project anyway? Where's Scor?"_

"_He told me he had to handle some business." He said, hoping that was enough of an answer for her. He knew exactly where Scorpius was, he just didn't want to be the one to tell Rose about it._

"_What kind of business does he have to handle on a Wednesday night?" she asked. "It must be something really big if he's got you lying for him."_

"_I'm not lying for him, I just don't think it's that important. If you really want to know…"_

"_I do." He didn't want to give Scorpius away, but if he didn't tell her she'd just badger him until he did, or go yell at Scorpius about it and they'd fight for the next two weeks. It was safer for everyone involved if he just told._

"_He's going to find Livvy Corner to ask her to Hogsmead."_

"_Livvy Corner?" she asked with a snort. "He wants to go out with Livvy Corner?"_

"_Yeah, what's wrong with that."_

"_Nothing, if you like a girl with boobs that are bigger than her brain. She's a perfectly…lovely girl if you have no interest at all in a girl's intellectual value."_

"_I doubt Scorpius is at all interested in intellectual value." He said, before realizing who he was speaking with. "No offense to you, though."_

"_To me? What do I have to do with anything?" He couldn't believe that after four years, Rose was still trying to deflect her feelings for Scorpius. It wasn't like Al would be mad if they got together, he'd actually prefer that to all of the secrecy and denial from both of them._

"_I shouldn't have said that seeing as how you like Scorpius and you're very intellectual."_

"_I don't like Scorpius."_

"_Yes, you do."_

"_No, I don't!" she said defiantly, before gathering up her books. _

"_Where are you going?"_

"_To find a date for Hogsmead. I'll think I'll start with the Ravenclaw Quidditch team." Al couldn't help but groan at the thought of her finding some guy to make Scorpius jealous. Of course, she wouldn't see it that way, but that's clearly what was about to happen. He had started this conversation off hoping to make her feel better, but he had more than likely just made everything a whole lot worse._

* * *

><p>"So for this project I was thinking I could do the research, you could put it all together, and Rose can present it and do whatever else she wants."<p>

"That's what she was going to do anyway," Scorpius joked, "She probably already assigned us jobs and everything, so you're wasting your time mate."

"You're probably right."

"I'm sitting right here, dumbass. I can hear you." She said, not looking up from her book. Al couldn't help but laugh at her, she was such an odd mix of her mother and father and Al found it hilarious. "Or am I just that invisible to you?"

"Invisible? To me?" Scorpius asked, "Not at all. However, if you ever did become invisible, I'd just listen for a girl cursing like a sailor but using perfect grammar, and I'd find you."

"How flattering. I don't know how you keep the girls off of you."

"Takes practice. But for the record, you'll never be invisible to me." Al wasn't sure if this was real or if his glasses were foggy, but he was pretty sure Scorpius winked at her. He was gonna just say it didn't happen, but she giggled in response. And not just a 'what you said is slightly funny' giggle; a full-on, Dominique inspired, 'I want you to be my new boy toy' giggle.

"Well then stop talking about me like I'm not here. And for your information, I _have_ already assigned you guys' jobs for the project, made an outline, and started researching. Got a problem with that?"

"None at all; I love it when you boss me."

"So you're into girls with strong personalities this week? You surely could've fooled me; I heard you asked Livvy Corner to Hogsmeade."

"Sounds like someone's a little jealousy over here. Are you jealous Rosie?"

"Not in the slightest. Been there, done that, remember?" Ok. Now, they were full out flirting. Right in Al's face!

"I do remember that, and it pains me to hear that you're just done with me. Love 'em and leave 'em huh?"

"You bet your ass." She responded as she got up from the table. "I'm leaving. See you later."

"Bye Rose!" Al practically yelled. She hadn't even acknowledged him the entire time. She seemed to realize this, as a blush crept up along her cheeks. At least she was ashamed of her behavior; he couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"What the hell was that?"

"What was what?"

"You and Rose flirting! "

"We were not flirting Al, you're paranoid." Al narrowed his eyes at his best friend, trying his hardest to intimidate the truth out of him. Neither of them spoke, they just stared each other down until Scorpius broke concentration and looked behind him to someone who was walking by.

"Hey, Red." He said in his stupid flirting voice again. Who the hell was Red? Al turned around and almost fell out of his seat at the sight of his sister blushing and smiling.

"Morning, Malfoy." She scurried along, without even looking at Al, and sat with Lysander and Hugo who looked equally suspicious.

"Since when do you call my sister Red? _Why _do you call her Red?"

"Have you ever seen her hair? It happens to be red."

"Her hair has always been red and you've never called her that before. Rose has red hair and you don't call her that."

"They can't have the same nickname genius; that defeats the purpose of a nickname. And I've called Lily that for a while now."

"Since when do you two even talk? And why?"

"I don't know Al. She's older and just different, I guess. I can joke around with her a little more now because she isn't under the age of thirteen."

"Well you didn't have to practically woo her right in my face. Why did you look at her like that? It was like you- like…first Rose, now Lily? Do you like them _both?"_

"I don't like Lily or Rose, but I would like for you to lower voice. Rose and I are just friends and Lily is…well, she's just Lily."

"No, she is not _just_ Lily. She is Lily, James and my little sister, daughter of Harry Potter, the Wizarding World and Hogwarts' sweetheart, and the only reason I've ever gotten into a physical fight. She drives me nuts, but she's my only sister and if I find out that you're flirting with her, or meeting up with her in secret, or messing with her, you will have me to deal with. Same goes for Rose. You just stick with girls like Livvy Corner and you'll be good to go."

"Wow. The whole overprotective brother speech was really good, but you should save it for someone who needs it, like maybe Lysander Scamander or Zack Longbottom, or the entire male student population at Hogwarts. To be honest, I should be the least of your problems."

"What's that supposed to mean? What do Scamander and Longbottom have to do with anything?"

"Don't get all crazy," Scorpius said with a smile. Al felt great knowing that his best friend was taking this so seriously. "I'm just pointing out two of many guys that have shown interest in your sister or Rose."

"Zack Longbottom? Are you kidding me? She told me there was nothing going on between them!"

"Who knows what's really going on in that head of hers? I'm just relaying what I've heard on the rumor mills."

"Oh yeah? Well have the rumor mills churned out any info on guys that fancy both my sister and my cousin? Including you?"

"What? No I don't"

"You swear on your life that you don't fancy both of them."

"I swear. Happy? If I'm lying I'm dying." He gathered his things and walked away quickly. Something was off with him, but he had sworn he didn't fancy either of the girls so Al really had no choice but to believe him for now. He really just hoped that Scorpius got his shit together soon, because he hated the way Scorpius' behavior was influencing Rose. It brought out a weird version of Rose that Al wasn't too fond of. But more importantly, he hoped there was never a day where he found out that Scorpius liked Lily. Lily was way too young for Scorpius, and way too young to date. Plus, Al had seen the way Scorpius treated the girls he fancied. He wasn't a jerk to girls, but he always looked at them with this cocky smirk like he just knew he could have any girl he wanted.

Al really hoped that Scorpius understood the boundaries of dating your best friend's sister. Simply put, there were no boundaries, because you should never date your best friend's sister. Ever. It had worked out for his mother and father, but that was in the olden days. Things were different in the world now, and it just would not happen. Al would not allow it. He really didn't want to have to kill his best friend, and he probably wouldn't have to. With James, Fred, Lex, Teddy, Hugo, and Louis on his side, by the time Al got to Scorpius he would have heard their message loud and clear.

Dating Lily was not an option, but Al wasn't too thrilled about him dating Rose either. If it came down to it, he preferred that they ended up together though, because that meant Lily wouldn't be dating Scorpius, and Rose wouldn't be dating Zack Longbottom. In all honesty, Al didn't want to think about any girls in his family ever dating. There was nothing he could really do about Molly, Roxy, or Dom, but he still had Rose, Lily and Lucy. The distinct sound of his sister's laugh rang through his ears, and he looked down the Gryffindor table to see her and Lysander laughing, and Lily touching his hand lightly. That's the same thing Reid did that made Al go crazy, so he could only imaging what Lily's little friend was thinking. He better go nip this in the bud before it could even start. These girls were going to be the death of him.

"Hey, Scamander!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Hey everyone! I swear I'm done teasing you guys with this little love foursome, or fivesome if you count Lysander. I just had to do it one more time, because I love torturing you guys a little. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but thanks everyone for getting me to 200+ reviews, and thanks as well to those that read regularly, but don't review. I appreciate it all!<em>**

**_-Jazz_**


	35. Where I Stood

"_I don't know who I am without you  
>All I know is that I should<br>And I know if I can stand another hand upon you  
>All I know is that I should<br>Cuz she will love you more than I could  
>She who dares to stand where I stood"<em>

_-Missy Higgins_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Molly felt like she was finally starting to get better. For almost a year she had been telling anyone that asked she was fine, but that hadn't been the case in the least. Before Chase graduated, she couldn't see him or hear his name without being sick. She and Madison had barely spoken, and even though Molly felt bad that she was pointed and stared at due to her pregnancy, she couldn't help but feel disgusted when they crossed paths. She would walk through the halls and do what she needed to do without blinking, but when she was alone she would cry herself to sleep or study until she could no longer see the words on the page. She wasn't the same old Molly that she used to be, and no one really understood that. She didn't want to go to parties, or walk around Hogsmead, or gossip with students about the mundane activities of their lives. What she had really wanted to do was just scream, but she couldn't have people know how terrible she had felt. That had been Molly for the past few months, but things were finally changing._

_Molly hadn't had some dramatic 'aha' moment that inspired her to get back to herself; she just woke up one day, went to breakfast, and actually had started eating instead of pushing the food around her plate. She tasted some of the sausages that used to be her favorite, and almost fainted at how much she had missed it. She had missed a lot in that time and it made her realize that it wasn't fair for her to be missing out on anything. After that day things just slowly started to fall back into place._

_She was back to being loud and talking people's ears off, and had finally sorted her feelings for Carson. She could walk through the halls without looking for Chase, and she could sit in her spot in the Common Room without wishing he was there to lean against; she had even allowed herself to go to Quidditch games again and it seemed like this time she was actually getting over her ex. She felt guilty saying she hadn't fully gotten over him because she was with Carson now, but some days she felt like there was something holding her back from being completely free of Chase. She was grateful for Carson and cared deeply for him, but sometimes she felt like she and Chase weren't finished. They were over- way over-but she didn't feel like they were done. It only made matters worse that she had to look at his younger brother Chance, who was a spitting image if her ex, every day. Usually he'd walk by and they'd speak and move on, but today he had lingered at the table where she, Roxy and Lex were sitting._

"_Hey Molly!" he said, trying too hard to make this seem like a regular conversation._

"_Hi Chance, how are you?"_

"_Fine. You?"_

"_I'm good, thanks." Instead of bringing up whatever it was that he wanted, Chance started playing with some loose threads on his cloak. She knew this could only be about one thing so she decided to help him out. "How's your brother?" _

"_Who Chase?" _

"_No, the boogeyman." Lex joked._

"_He's…hanging in there. Aside from Madison he doesn't really have anyone to talk to. I think he's going insane." At this Roxy snorted, but Molly tried to cover it up._

"_Aren't we all? Couldn't he talk to some of his old Hogwarts friends?"_

"_I honestly don't think he had any." Chance confessed._

"_Not true. He was popular before we started dating-"_

"_That doesn't mean he had tons of friends; He had the team, then he had you, then he didn't have the team or you, and now he has a- a Madison, a baby, and no Pro-Quidditch Career. He's pretty torn up about it." Molly didn't know why he'd stumbled over Madison's name, but more than that she couldn't believe he was here making a case for the girl that was having her ex-boyfriend's baby._

"_No Quidditch? " Roxy asked. "But I thought he had offers from Puddlemire and-"_

"_He turned them down; said he had messed up enough things and he wanted to do the whole husband and father thing right no matter the circumstances."_

"_Wait, wait, and wait. Everybody stop. Did you just say husband?" Molly asked, almost choking on the word. Surely this little boy hadn't said husband, but she looked at her friends and they wore equal expressions of shock, except for Roxy who was flat out disgusted._

"_Well yeah. Madison's parents kicked her out so she came to live with us, and my mum didn't want them living together unless they were married- even though they had already been…well, either way, she made them marry before the baby came."_

"_Wow." It was selfish of Molly to think that Chase wouldn't have gotten on without her. Of course he would have to; she just hadn't expected to be hearing about Chase's marriage to another woman. For the last three years she thought that _she'd _be that woman, but now he was married to Madison? "What the fu-"_

"_Listen, I know my brother messed up, and I hate what he did to you as much as the next person, but I don't think either of you will be able to move on unless you forgive him."_

"_What? All of this is for me to forgive him? He can't even ask me for forgiveness himself?"_

"_He's embarrassed."_

"_He should be!"_

"_But-"_

"_Listen to me. Your brother doesn't need my forgiveness Chance, I have nothing to do with him."_

"_Yes you do. He loves you Molly."_

"_And look what bloody good that did me the first time around." She said in a surprisingly calm voice. _

"_Please! You have to talk to him." Molly looked around to see if anyone else was hearing this nonsense, but for some reason no one else seemed the slightest bit concerned. _

"_Why me? I mean really me, of all people?"_

"_Because you've always been his…person. Even when you didn't notice him; you were the person he looked to for answers. It doesn't matter how many times my mom or dad or Madison talk to him. I don't think he'll ever start to heal until you forgive him. He'll be in Hogsmead this weekend if you decide you want to talk."_

_He walked away before she could respond or do something stupid like cry. Chase and Madison are married and he wants to be forgiven and he loves her. That's just…not what she was expecting. She'd known and loved Chase's parents as if they were her own, and it just didn't seem like them to be so welcoming about the whole thing. And he had given up Quidditch? That was one of the main reasons they had even started fighting all those years ago. Molly's thoughts start going to places it hadn't been in a long time and she looked to her Rox and Lex, who had become her personal therapists through this._

"_What do you guys think?" she asked. "Should I meet him?"_

_Lex was the first to answer with a solid no, while Roxy weighed the options before speaking. "I think you guys definitely need to talk, but how do you think Carson will feel about it?"_

"_Good question. I don't want to make him mad by going to see him, and I don't want him to get jealous or anything."_

"_You've got to remember that you're in a normal, healthy relationship now." Lex said, "Carson's a pretty understanding bloke, just talk to him about it."_

"_Fine. I'll go now." On her way to Ravenclaw Tower, she thought about whether or not she even wanted to talk to Chase. Did she want to bring back all those awful feelings she felt when they had broken up? Technically they had never even broken up, it was just mutually understood that they were no longer together. When she got to the door of the Ravenclaw Common Room, she expected to be asked for a password, then remembered where she had come._

"_The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?"_

"_Pardon me?" she asked. Their door to the Gryffindor Common Room never said much more to them than "password please." This was so weird._

"_The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?"_

"_I'll pass on the pop quiz, I need to see someone."_

"_The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought-"_

"_Listen lady, this is more important than some stupid riddle! I am in the middle of an emergency; this system is so inefficient. What if I was running from an attacker, trying to get to safety, and then I can't answer your stupid question? What do I do then?"_

"_The man who invented it-"_

"_A coffin!" Carson screamed from behind her. He was wearing a smirk on his face like he had just gotten away with murder. "I can't watch this anymore, it's a coffin."_

"_How long were you watching?"_

"_Long enough. You get so angry so fast." He said with his adorable smile, "It's cute."_

"_Yeah, well this isn't." She relayed the entire exchange with Chance and had told him Roxy and Lex's reactions, but he didn't seem angry at all. He just looked thoughtfully before saying the last thing she'd expected._

"_You should do it." Carson said solidly. She looked at him to see if he was kidding but all she saw was a mask of indifference._

"_Why?"_

"_You guys never talked about what happened. Ever. You guys broke up and just stopped talking like you could ignore what happened, but you can't. It practically killed you and apparently he's not doing that well either." She let out a huge sigh. He was right; as always. She'd have to talk to Chase._

"_Fine; I'll talk to him."_

* * *

><p>It had taken Molly 2 hours to get ready this morning. Carson had literally torn her away from the mirror and walked her to the front of the castle. She had begged him to come with her, but he'd insisted that it was something she needed to do alone; plus he was having a little gathering later and needed all day to set up. Everything in Molly was telling her to forget the day she'd agreed to meet Chase and just go back to the castle, but another-embarrassingly large-part of her wanted badly to see him again. She wanted to run up to him and smell his cologne, and see his face, and look into his eyes and Punch. Him. In. The. Mouth. Molly thought she'd been ok up until this point, but the closer she got to Hogsmead, the more she was positive that she was not ok. All of the denial and sadness she'd been harboring was boiling up and being directed towards this moment and she was <em>pissed. <em>Chase loved her? Yeah right. That was a great explanation for why he had cheated on her, broken up with her without speaking to her, gotten her best friend pregnant, and married the girl to top it all off. If that's what love was, Molly didn't want anything to do with it.

The more she thought about it, the worse the idea of confronting Chase seemed. Maybe she had kept her distance from the situation in a subconscious effort to avoid this very thing. Molly hadn't been paying attention to where she was going as she walked down the path to Hogsmead. Her mind was clouded with a wide range of emotions and she was planning out a million different ways to confront Chase when she saw him. She was just deciding if she should actually yell or do no talking at all when she ran into another figure, falling on the ground with a loud thud. The offender rushed to her side, blurting out a string of familiar 'I'm sorry's' and brushing herself off. The girl held out her hand and Molly took it gratefully. It wasn't until she was in her face that she noticed who it was. She had been prepared to see Chase today; she had not been expecting to see this girl.

"Madison?" she asked, confused. It looked like Madison, but this was no girl. This woman was older looking, with dark circles under her eyes and a short haircut that didn't do her face any justice. Her shoulders were more hunched, and she was curvier in the hips and thighs. She would have thought this was Madison's mom or something, but she noticed the little butterfly tattoo on her wrist. This was definitely her old best friend, but she had really…matured.

"Hi Molly." This was weird. What was Molly supposed to say to her? There were so many things she could say, but not a word escaped her lips. "How are you?"

"Good." She answered quickly out of habit. Molly was usually never good, but after the break-up she'd noticed that 'good' barred no questions, while 'fine' wasn't ever believable, and sent people on a mission to figure out what was wrong with you. "How are you?"

"I've been better for sure, but I'm doing alright. With the baby and everything I feel like I'm always all over the place." She answered quickly. Madison probably realized that bringing up her baby was probably the most awkward thing she could have done in that moment.

"Right, a baby." Molly said uncomfortably. "How is…it?"

"She's great." Oh, so it was a she. "Actually here she is." Madison gestured somewhere behind where Molly was standing and she turned to see Chase wheeling an enormous pink and frilly stroller that had Lavender Brown written all over it. She could not believe their _baby_ was here for this. Were they trying to piss her off? How many people had been invited to this rendezvous? Who was next, the Minister of Magic? Chase was making his way towards them and honestly Molly hadn't expected him to look so…happy. "I know you need to talk to Chase and I didn't mean for the two of us to tag along today, but I needed to get some shopping done."

"No, no. it's fine. Um, I had been meaning to talk to you at some point, I just-"

"I understand." She said awkwardly. "I never got to say how sorry I was. I felt awful-"

"I bet." Molly interrupted rudely. She hadn't meant to be so hostile, but this really wasn't their time to work things out. She was here to talk to Chase, and this was finally the moment. "Hello Chase."

"Hey."

"Well, I'll let you two talk." Madison said before kissing him on the cheek sweetly. Molly felt bad just letting her walk away like that after she'd tried to apologize for the millionth time, and there was a small twinge of guilt in her chest.

"Wait," she called out to the retreating figure. Before she could stop herself she hugged her old friend. It wasn't a best friend hug, but it wasn't a scowl or a rude comment either, so Molly figured it was a step in the right direction. "I know I can act like a bitch, but it really is good to see you again; and if you ever really, _really_ need me you can always owl." She tried to put extra emphasis on _really. _Like, in case of a severe emergency.

"Thanks, I don't deserve that after what I did." She said sadly.

"Well, we were friends and you didn't deserve to go through that alone." Madison smiled again and turned down the path back towards the stores. Molly noticed she'd forgotten to take her baby with her, but as long as it was sleeping, maybe it would be ok. And she didn't want to be rude and make it seem like she didn't like it because it was _their_ baby. She should also maybe stop referring to it as 'it'. "Well, I got us a table at the Three Broomsticks."

"Three Broomsticks with a baby?" he asked, with the tone of a condescending adult. It was the one he used to use with her when they were together that made her feel stupid. She had forgotten that quickly that it, scratch that, the _baby_ was there and he had no reason to be short with her. _Obviously _she wasn't aware she would be accommodating a baby, but she wouldn't say that out loud. Though she did note that now that they were broken up, she could say whatever she wanted without the pressure of him blowing up at her.

"I guess not. Where to then?" she asked, starting to regret coming down here at all.

"What about Honeydukes?"

"Ummm, Ok." Now she was really really wished she had stayed at school and helped Carson and Lex set up for their party. They walked into the sweet shop and took a seat in the back with a few other little kids and their parents. She had no idea this was even back here. When they had settled in, Chase opened the cover of the stroller and revealed a small bundle of soft pink and cotton.

"That was nice of you." Chase answered while arranging a variety of toys around the baby. "Talking to Madison- she really wasn't expecting that."

"I'm full of surprises. Plus, I wasn't really expecting _her_ here today." She said, causing his ears to turn red. Good grief, he was still so sensitive. "It was long overdue."

"It was still nice. So how have you been?" he asked casually. She was surprised by how nonchalant he was being, like all that happened was just a dream and they were catching up on old times. It was weird.

"I've been- well, I'm good."

"Really good or 'I don't want to talk about it' good?"

"I've been good. I've been studying for my NEWTS and trying to keep some kind of control over my cousins and…and I'm dating Carson now."

"Oh?" he said with a simple nod. "That's good. He's a good guy."

"Really?Because I specifically remember telling you that he was a good person for the better portion of our relationship. I also remember you hating him relentlessly."

"I didn't hate him; dislike is a better word."

"Dislike?" she asked. Molly had fought hard to keep her friendship with Carson while she was with Chase. He was always telling her that he was a prick, or obnoxious, so she couldn't believe he was telling her he hadn't actually hated him.

"Yeah. He was always a good guy- that was the problem. He was really nice and good for you and understood you in a way that I never could, and it bothered me." Molly remembered thinking something along those lines about Madison a while back. "I was always afraid that you'd come to your senses and let him steal you away from me."

"Hmm. Funny that it ended up being _you _that stole you away from me." He winced at her words and it only made her more annoyed. This was not at all going the way she'd expected. She knew Chase had been a little possessive, but she'd never noticed how manipulative and selfish he was. He had been willing to try and turn her against one of her best friends just because he was intimidated by him. All that time Chase had spent criticizing Carson's mannerisms and reputation, that had really been jealousy? Ridiculous.

"But since I clearly have no right to be jealous anymore I can admit he's a good guy."

"Yeah he is." She said quickly. She needed to change the subject fast. "Well what about you? How's fatherhood and…marriage?" His eyes went down to his left hand as if he'd forgotten he was married, and she could see him turning red.

"Who told you about that?"

"Chance. He didn't mean to, it just sort of came out." She didn't understand why it was such a big secret anyway. Who really cared?

"Oh, well everyday isn't bright and shiny, but we do what we have to. Being a father is amazing and a little scary, and I know my parents forced us into the marriage but Madison is a great wife and an amazing mother." Molly couldn't help but smile at that. Madison had always been the mother of their group so she knew she was good at this whole thing. She was exactly the kind of woman that could handle Chase's crazy, a baby, and the rest of the Finnegan household at one time. And the way Chase spoke about Madison, Molly could tell he thought way more of her than just a 'great wife;' He really loved her. "I know we didn't mean for any of this to happen but we're happy."

"That's good. I'm glad you guys are happy." She said honestly. Finally the conversation had relaxed a little and she realized that as long as the two of them weren't _actually_ talking about them, they were ok. Molly was pretty shocked that she was sitting here with Chase talking like they were new friends, not old lovers. It was weird, but not completely uncomfortable like she'd expected.

There was a fussy sound coming from the stroller and Chase immediately turned his attention to the baby. When Chase reached his finger in and lightly tickled her palm, she grabbed his finger and looked at him with love, admiration and content. It was really sweet; like he was the only thing she had ever wanted or needed in this world. Then again, he probably was one of the only things she'd ever wanted considering she couldn't have seen much yet. Chase returned the look with even more ferocity and Molly felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment. She had never really been fond of babies, probably because she'd grown up with so many of them. From her memory, they were tiny things that produced powerful sounds and smells; they had vice-like grips and an obsession with grabbing nice, shiny things that didn't belong to them. She also remembered that they got up at all kinds of hours of the night, but Molly could see how it would be worth it for moments like these.

"Could I see it?" she asked. "I mean, her." He looked completely taken aback by her request, but nodded his head.

"Sure." Chase murmured something that Molly could only classify as baby talk before turning the stroller so that the tiny baby girl was facing Molly. With the sight of her father gone, the wide-eyed baby's gaze turned from loving to curious and almost judging, as if she was sizing Molly up and deciding if she was going to cry or not. Taking this as a challenge, Molly slowly raised her eyebrows at the baby, who repeated her movement exactly. Molly squinted until she could barely see, and the baby did the same. When Molly slowly tilted her head to the side and puffed out her cheeks, the baby followed. And when Molly smiled, realizing she had been having a staring contest with an infant, the baby giggled her approval. "Would you like to hold her…?" It wasn't a question, but more like a hint at what she was supposed to do next.

Molly reached in the stroller and pulled out the baby that smelled like powder and lavender. Instead of crying like Molly had anticipated, the baby sighed contentedly and began babbling away. She was more talkative than either of her parents, which was pretty funny. Molly decided this would be a good time to give this whole baby talk thing a shot. "Hi pretty girl, what's your name?" The question had been directed more at Chase, who was too busy staring at them to answer. Why was he staring at her like that? "Chase, helloooo, what's her name?"

"Olivia." All Molly could do was quickly shake her head from side to side to keep tears from coming. Why on earth would he do that? It was completely selfish and maybe even ridiculous to think he'd named his love child after her, but how many other Olivia's could he possibly know?

"You named her after me?" she asked.

"Yes. _We _named her after you."

"Why? That's…Chase, I-"

"Listen Molly, I never stopped loving you. I made a mistake and I've dealt with the consequences, but I need you to know that as bad as I treated you, or as crazy as I seemed, there was never a time that I didn't love you. It kills me every day knowing that I hurt you and if I could take away all the pain I caused I would."

Whatever indifferent cover he had adopted had faded away quickly. She wanted to tell him that there would never be a way to take away the pain, but she didn't think that would help. She wanted to tell him she didn't care if he still loved her; there wasn't much purpose in lying. She wanted to let him know that it had taken her ten times as long to put herself back together as it did for him to rip her apart but she didn't need to. Right now, with him practically begging for the forgiveness he needed to be free of his guilt's; here, with his daughter in her arms she knew none of that needed to be said. He knew, and he had suffered just as much, if not more, than she had. She had let their relationship fade and was able to at least dull the pain. Chase and Madison hadn't been around so she didn't really have to deal with the problem, but they had been dealing with it this whole time. They hadn't gotten time to themselves to think things out and heal. They were still holding on to the things that happened in the past.

"Chase, I never stopped loving you either, but I stopped holding on to you and you have to do the same. I had to let go because it was so obvious that there would never be a place for me in your life, and I had to move on. All I did for months was wonder what I had done wrong and replayed how I could have made it better, but it was useless and painful. And I so want to believe that you loved me as much as I loved you, but I really can't because I could never do what you did to anyone I loved. But over time things have gotten better and I'm not perfect, but I'm ok. You have to let go of whatever guilt you have because there's no point. It'll be better for you, me, and Madison that way."

"You think so?" he asked. She reached across the table and gave his hand a light squeeze.

"I really do, Chase. You have a family now with this gorgeous little girl. Don't ruin that by self-loathing over a mistake you made in the past; Madison and Olivia deserve all of you, not just the part that isn't bogged down with your shame and regrets. Let it go Chase. Let _me_ go."

She knew how cliché it was, but all she could think about was how much of a weight she felt being lifted off of her shoulders. She had been holding that in for almost a year and a half now and it felt good to let it out because she needed to let him go too. She owed it to Carson and everyone else that had dealt with her recently to get over it. Maybe if they had talked sooner theses pasts few months could have been a lot different for both of them.

"I know it's a longshot," Chase started, "but do you think we can ever be friends again?"

"You know, I don't think we ever were friends. We kind of went from teammates to boyfriend and girlfriend in like a day."

"That's exactly what happened. So maybe we should start being friends now." She laughed at the simplicity of his request, but realized she kind of wanted that as well.

"Yeah we can try. But I have to give us credit and say that this surprisingly calm, albeit dramatic conversation is a good start."

"I figured the next time we saw each other you'd be yelling. I would have deserved it."

"That was my plan," she said with a laugh, remembering how she'd wanted to literally fight him just 45 minutes ago. "I had this whole speech thought out in my head and I'd gone over it millions of times but when we started talking I realized I'm not angry with you. I guess I've grown up. And of course I have Carson and now you have Olivia so…in a weird kind of way everything worked out I guess."

"I guess they did." Olivia let out a huge yawn and nuzzled against Molly as she silently fell back to sleep. She truly felt her heart melting.

"Plus, it'd be hard to yell at you while holding your daughter, who, by the way, is completely irresistible and charming; she's going to be very popular with the boys." She joked.

"She better not be." _Oh she will be, _Molly thought. Lily had been like this when she was a baby and to this day people can't fight her charm. She would have told him, but she figured he'd find out soon enough. Somehow through all of their talking, Olivia had fallen asleep soundly. Molly transferred her back to her stroller and kissed her on the cheek. She really was mesmerizing- and Molly didn't usually compliment babies.

"Well, I'm glad we talked, but I've really got to get back. It was nice seeing you though."

"You too. See you again soon?" he asked hopefully.

"Probably. I really do want to visit Madison sometime."

"She'd like that."

"Hey guys." Madison said, walking into Honeydukes as if on cue. If she thought the baby was happy to see Chase, she didn't know what to call the little girl's reaction to hearing her mother's voice her mother. You wouldn't even have thought she was sleep 5 seconds ago. Madison sat down and showered the little girl with kisses before kissing Chase, who wrapped a protective are around her shoulder. Though the circumstances hadn't been traditional, they were a happy family and Molly couldn't help but be happy for them. Chase had always wanted a family and Madison was fit to be a mother. This is the way things were supposed to be.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Madison said. Molly found that ironic considering she was practically a stranger sitting by watching their family moment.

"It's fine, I was just leaving. Lex and Carson are having a poker night and I promised to help set up." Her silly party seemed like a mundane activity to compare to parenthood, but that's where Molly was at in life and she was okay with that. She got up from her seat and considered hugging him, but turned to the baby instead. "Goodbye little, Olivia. I'll see you soon."

"Bye." The pair said in unison. Molly walked out of the Three Broomsticks and let out a breath she had no idea she'd been holding. Chase was a dad and a husband with an adorable baby, and he was happy. Now she could be happy too because now she knew that what she had been holding onto was not her relationship with Chase, but the possibility that things could have been different. What she had needed from him wasn't an apology, but closure, so that she could move on without the false hopes that something good could have come out of their relationship. The man she loved was not a father or a husband. The man she loved was first and foremost still a boy, that still played never have I ever, and snuck around the halls, and threw parties, and enjoyed his youth. The guy she loved was Carson; and he'd been so good and patient with her throughout all of this. Molly walked into the Room of Requirement that looked like Las Vegas had exploded.

"There you are!" Roxy screamed. "Were you in Hogsmead all that time?"

"Yes."

"Well, is he still alive?"

"Of course he is Roxy; I wasn't going to kill him with his wife and daughter right there."

"They were there too?"

"Yes. Long story. Where's Carson?"

"Right here." He called, walking in the room with a container full of poker chips. She ran at him with full force and he had the sense to drop the chips so he could catch her when she leapt into his arms. "Wow, somebody had a good day. Did you talk to him?"

"Yes I did."

"And you're not mad or angry?"

"Ok, at first I was pissed. Like I was seriously running through any fighting moves I knew on the way down there, but then when I talked to them- oh yeah, Madison and their baby Oliviawere there-"

"Olivia? As in-"

"As in my ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend named their daughter after me. Which is kind of weird, yes, but in a way it's kind of flattering I guess. But oh my gosh, they're such a cute little family and it made me realize that I kind of want that."

"You want _all_ of that?"

"Well I don't need the ex and all that, but a family and a baby wouldn't be horrible as I like to make it seem."

"Really?" he asked

"In the future- and by future I mean like, so far from us being students at Hogwarts that baby Lena goes here- I would consider having a family. With the right person of course."

"Of course. And this right person wouldn't happen to be a strapping young Ravenclaw with auburn wafts of hair that fall perfectly without him even having to try, would he?" He teased. "He's also got a killer smile and a winning personality that adds to his irresistible charm."

"This guy sounds _amazing_, can you introduce me?" she said as she rolled her eyes. "But there's plenty of time for the right guy and all that serious stuff. Right now I just want to be with my boyfriend, who I'd like to thank properly for everything he's done for me." She ground her hips against his waist, hoping he was getting a good sense of how she'd like to thank him. He raised an eyebrow and kissed her fiercely.

"Hey!" Lex called, "None of that until _after _my party." Molly got down, but Carson never let go of her. She was sure that everything had worked out in its own strange way. Right here with these people is where she was supposed to be.


	36. Hurt

**Omg, I really hope this chapter is decent lol I'm like, going crazy with school and work, but I can't leave you guys hanging! **

"Seems like it was yesterday that I saw your face  
>You told me how proud you were, but I walked away<br>If only I knew what I know today.  
>I would tell you I was wrong<br>I would help you understand  
>Are you looking down upon me?<br>Are you proud of who I am?  
>There's nothing I wouldn't do to hear your voice again<br>Sometimes I wanna call you, and see you looking back  
>Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you<br>For everything I just couldn't do  
>And I hurt myself, by hurting you"<p>

-Christina Aguilera

* * *

><p>"Teddy, I cannot believe you pulled us all out of class! That's awesome!" Molly said happily. He really understood her enthusiasm considering the rarity of them being pulled out of class, but he wished they all weren't smiling at him so brightly. It would only make all of this harder.<p>

"Seriously, you never take us out of a class we're in. What's going on?"

"Well, I have news for you-"

"Please don't say Vic is pregnant again. No offense, but you guys haven't even gotten on well with the first one."

"Just a tip, saying no offense doesn't make what you say any less offensive Fred."

"Noted." he tried to remember why he had called them here, instead of being annoyed by them "What are we here for then?"

"There's no easy way to say it, so I'm just going to come out with it. There's been an accident."

"An accident?" Rose asked, "Where?"

"At the ministry." He didn't know why it was so hard for him to say, but the looks on their faces were just too much. They were not a family that received bad news often, so they knew immediately that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Lily asked. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"There have been some extremely delicate cases within the Magical Law Department involving certain "uprisings" of people that still think purebloods are superior. One group in particular, has been causing an abnormal amount of disarray for the department."

"Uprisings?" James asked, "As in…wannabe death eaters?"

"Something like that, except everyone thought it was just a bunch of kids trying to get some attention. The Aurors and the people in the Magical Law Department have been working together to bring and end to it, or find a leader, and they thought they had found them, but it was a decoy."

"Seriously Teddy, this isn't an Auror debriefing, something bad happened didn't it?"

"One of the boys that they thought caused all of the uprisings was captured and brought in for trial today. It turns out, he was only a decoy to get as much of…our family as possible in one room at one time. From my understanding, everything happened so fast that not many people had time to react properly to the explosions, but almost everyone was evacuated safely."

"Almost everyone?" Rose asked, not missing a beat. "Who wasn't evacuated?"

"It was-." Teddy was trying to stay strong for them, but it was turning out to not be that easy. He didn't have to say much more, especially since all of the kids whose parents worked at the ministry had automatically tensed. Lily had formed tears in her eyes before she even knew who it was. "I'm so sorry, this is hard for me to do-"

"Just tell us Teddy," Rose begged tearfully. "Tell us, please!"

He couldn't believe he had to do this.

Al hated funerals. He had never even been to one before and he could tell that he hated them. The whole thing was extremely depressing and no one had been themselves since they received the news. Al had truly never seen the girls cry so hard in their lives, and even he could admit that he was choked up when Teddy told them. Al was old enough to understand that people didn't live forever, but he never would have imagined that something like this could happen. To make matters worse, they had decided to drive to the service, but in usual Potter fashion they were quite late, causing their dad to drive a little more aggressively than usual. It was all very nerve-wracking, not to mention the telecasting on every wizard run radio that seemed to be aiming to never let them forget what had happened.

"_It's a tragic day for the wizarding world-"_

"-_jumped in front of the explosion and absorbed full impact-"_

"_said to have been killed instantly-_

"_-leaves behind children and family-_

"Can you shut that thing off?" Al practically shouted.

"You ok buddy?" Their dad asked as they drove into the city.

"I just can't think with all that racket."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." he answered quietly. Al just couldn't help but feel that this wasn't an accident. He didn't think it was just a bunch of kids fooling around, because that's not how kids tended to fool around. Secret society wishing ill on an entire group of people seemed a little extreme for a "bunch of kids fooling around." It all made him feel very suspicious. He had been raised to not judge others, but he couldn't help wondering if any of the kids at school had anything to do with it. There were plenty of kids that hated their family, and even more that had parents on the dark side during the war. There was a large popularity of kids at Hogwarts that Al hadn't even met, and the Slytherins did Merlin knows what down in those dungeons by themselves. And if there were a bunch of psycho kids trying to take over the Wizarding World, what did that mean for them? Would their be another war? Would _they_ have to fight in it? They had no survival skills; most kids his age could barely stay awake during DADA, let alone defend themselves if it came to an attack. "Dad, I think you should teach me how to duel."

"Why?" his mom answered, looking like it was the craziest idea in the world.

"Because I don't know how; if there's another war I want to be able to defend myself."

"That won't happen, honey. I promise." His mom looked to his dad for affirmation, and he barely nodded. "What's got you thinking about this?"

"I guess I'm just in denial about all of this. I know that no one lives forever, but you all have already gone through so much and you guys got through it because you were so much tougher. Dad, you said a lot of what happened in the past was because of luc, right? What if this is different and your luck has run out?" He couldn't finish explaining himself because he got choked up for the millionth time since they got the bad news. Out of everyone, Al had probably cried the most. Lily had been the light in all of it, cheering everyone up and comforting them. She was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for, and somehow kept a smile on her face, which is exactly what everyone needed. James had taken a different approach than Al and Lily. He wasn't upset, nor did he have a positive light about him. He had been a complete shell of himself, only speaking when it was absolutely necessary. Al had never seen anything effect his older brother so much, and he thought that might be a part of the reason he was so emotional. None of it was fair, and Al would give anything to undo what had happened. "I'm sorry I'm acting like complete sap-"

"Don't apologize for how you feel Albus. We all grieve in our own ways." he mother comforted. She had been a rock through this too, though Al knew that was just a front so that the kids wouldn't see her break down. Al had heard her crying in the night though, and had to put a silencing charm around their parents door so Lily wouldn't hear. The situation had just brought so many bad thoughts to his mind, and he might as well tell his parents what had really been bothering him.

"This family has gone through so much, I just don't think we can survive much more. I don't ever want you guys to- I just can't imagine you all not being here. And if something were to ever happen you I might-"

"Seriously, Al?" James asked, speaking in a hollow voice that was nothing like his own. "That's what you choose to talk about right now while we're in this death machine? Our parents dying? Pull your shit together."

"Pardon me for trying to express myself. All of us can't just ignore all of our emotions every minute of our lives."

"Both of you, shut up." Lily added.

"All three of you need to calm down. Al, honey, your dad and I aren't going anywhere-"

"How can you say that mom? We're on our way to a funeral! You can't promise something like that."

"You're right. I cannot promise you that, but I can assure you that what happened was an accident. It could have happened to anyone, at any place, anytime, and you can replay the scenario over and over and come up with a million reasons for why it didn't have to happen that way, but it did. I want all three of you to remember that in life, there are things that happen that we don't want to accept, and people we can't live without that we have to let go. It's just a part of life that we have to come to terms with at some point in our lives. We grieve, we move on, but we never forget. You're the only one that has your memories, and as long as you cherish them, that person will always be with you."

Their mom was tearing up now, and turned away from them so that they wouldn't see the tears fall from her eyes. Al couldn't see now how it was ever possible to get over the death of a loved one, but his parents had lost many friends and family members, and they seemed to be doing ok.

"I just want you guys to know that I love you." Al said softly. "All of you."

"We love you too buddy." he dad responded. "Everything will be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, it's not the end."

* * *

><p>Rose had no idea how she had become the only person in the family with any sense of punctuality. Not that she wanted the service to be over, she just found it disrespectful to show up late to something like this, or to anything for that matter. To her, being late meant that you felt your time was more important than the person's you were wasting by being late. Rose, her mother, and the majority of the other guests were patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin, and she was trying to do anything but look towards that coffin. It just sent her on an emotional roller coaster that she wasn't ready to deal with today. She had enough going on.<p>

"Mom, what's taking so long? Should I go get everyone?"

"No. don't be rude."

"Me? They're holding up the entire ceremony. They're the ones being rude. I'll go get them." she said as she stood up from her seat. Her mom tried to stop her, but couldn't get a good enough grip on her skirt. The only thing that stopped her was the entire human being that she ran into when she tried to walk out of the row she'd been seated in. "Ow."

"Where are you going?" Zack asked, rubbing the spot where her forehead had hit the oen he had nestled in the pocket of his dress shirt.

"I'm going to find my cousins, they're holding everything up."

"You in a rush or something?"

"A little. I mean, the ceremony did have a start time. Why give a time if you aren't going to follow it?"

"I'm sure they didn't count on losing one of their main guests, but things happen. Let's sit."

"No, I told you I'm going to get them!" she said, moving his hand from her forehead. The scene probably looked a little intimate, and she didn't want her mom asking a million questions later on tonight. "Get out of the way, Longbottom!"

"No, thank you. Just let them have their moment, everyone deals in their own way."

"Disappearing when your family is in a time of crisis is not a coping mechanism, it's a cop out."

"And this whole time conscious, insensitive, extra pushy thing? Is that your coping mechanism?"

"Get out of my way." It looked like he was goijng to move, but he only wrapped and arm around her waste and guided her back towards her seat. She tried to resist, but he was definitively stronger than she was, and she didn't want to cause a scene. To anyone else, it just looked like she was letting him console her, but she was pushing against him with every ounce of strength she had. Finally they got back to where her mom was and he kept his hand on her waste as they sat in their sets.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley. You look lovely."

"Thanks you Zachary. You are quite dashing yourself." she practically sang. Rose didn't disagree with her mom, but she didn't want to hear about how dashing he looked when he had completely won their little argument back there. She didn't know why she was upset. It wasn't like she had never lost an argument before, she had just never lost to a guy she liked. Or possibly liked. She didn't really care about the technicalities of their situation right now, though. The only other guy that she had ever felt anything for was Scorpius. They argued all of the time, and she always won. Even when he clearly had the upper hand, or better argument, she always won. He gave her whatever she wanted, without ever putting up much of a fight. Zack Longbottom made her earn the victory in every argument they had. If she was right, she was right, but if she was wrong, he wasn't the type to just bow down and say she was right to make her happy. It was infuriating, but at the same time it was oddly comforting. It was like he respected her enough to not give her an easy win.

"You need to relax." he whispered. He used his free arm to push down on her shoulders, releasing the tension she had forgotten she'd been holding there.

"I dislike funerals. I think that death is unfair, and selfish. It just takes who it wants when it wants, and doesn't care who is affected. How is that fair?"

"It's not, but there's little we can do about it."

"Little? What can we do about it at all?"

"We can really live while we're living. Say all the things you need to say to the people that need to hear it most, and do all you want to do with the people you love most. Don't take a single second of a single day for granted, because you never know how many you have left. All you can do is try to have no regrets."

"Sounds risky."

"You can't be afraid t take a few risks Rose. If you calculate every single thing, and plan everything out to a T, you'll miss out on those great moments that come when we least expect it, you know? You can't live in fear of actually living; that's not living at all." She had a tiny feeling that she knew what kind of risks he was talking about.

"Any suggestions?"

"Depends. Am I speaking as a friend, or as the guy that fancies you?" Rose could feel her mom tense up next to her, but she didn't say anything, or interrupt. "As a friend, I think you need to make a decision, and you know what decision I'm talking about. Don't worry about what other people think, choose whoever makes you happy."

"Easy for you to say. Why do you care? It's none of your business who I do or do not choose." He raised his eyebrows as if to say 'Like hell it isn't' but he didn't say anything. He just moved his arm from around left his seat. Now he was frustrated with her. She hadn't meant for it to come out that way. Of course it was his business whether or not she chose to be with him. Why wouldn't it be? He had been putting up with her indecisiveness for almost a year now, and hadn't pressured her in the least to make a decision. Not that there was much of a decision to be made, Zack had made his feeling very clear, and Scorpius had been about as clear as a foggy autumn day. She stood up from her seat, noting how rude it must look for everyone to keep getting up and sitting down at a funeral. When she caught up to him, he was walking slowly down the corridor. "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For being so weird, for using you like some kind of crutch, for not paying attention to you more even though you've been here for me through all of this mess, for-"

"Rose, it's fine. I get it; you and Scorpius have this thing for each other and it's complicated. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"That's just it though; I really do need to explain myself to you because you get it and you get me. I like you, and you've opened my eyes to new things and made me feel special, and I wish it was any other guy, but it's Scorpius. We've been dancing around the inevitable for years now, and he and I have gotten absolutely nowhere. If anything we are even farther apart than we used to be, which should make me want to just forget him, but I can't; not without saying we at least tried. I was just waiting for him to come to his senses, or for things to work themselves out on their own. But I just can't take waiting anymore. I realize that for someone that hates what I'm going through, I must be a real prick to put you through the exact same things. I don't want you to wait for me Zack; you never made me wait, you've always been here. Your feelings for me have been clear from the start and I thank you for that."

"It's no big deal." he said sounding sad. "You're an amazing girl."

"How can you even say that?" she asked, tearing up. "How can you be so nice and understanding? You're making this extremely difficult."

"We're friends Rose. Your preference in boyfriends won't change that, I swear. If he makes you happy, you deserve that." He wiped a tear from her face with a sad smile, and knew he was trying to keep his composure. "Scorpius is coming this way."

"Ok." She said as she hugged him. "Call we still met up on Sunday's for tutoring?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. Not that I don't enjoy the time with you, but I don't want to overstep any boundaries or anything."

"You don't even know if he'll want to be with me."

"He will. You better go." Zack walked back towards the ceremony and Rose tried to wipe the tears from her face so that she could look halfway presentable. She had probably just lost a friend, and that sucked, but she needed to do this now. She walked over towards Scorpius, feeling more and more confident with every step.

"Scorpius, wait!" she screamed, turning her confident walk into a brisk jog. "I need to tell you something."

"What?" he answered rather coldly.

"I love you." He didn't respond, but looked around like he was checking for anyone that could be listening to their conversation. She looked back at the place he was staring at, wondering what was so interesting that she couldn't have his full attention after saying she loved him. She thought she saw a flash of silver disappear into the funeral hall, but she probably imagined it.

"What'd you say?"

"Don't what me, you heard. I love you. I love you, and I'm not going to try and deny it any longer. I know you feel something Scorpius, and you've had plenty of time to figure it all out, and I know that like me, you overthink every single thing that happens in your life. I think about you constantly, I see you and I get butterflies just like I did when I was 11, you're the first person I want to tell things to and the last person on my mind. I've been waiting for you since I was ten years old, and I'm done. I'm not doing it anymore. Either we're together, right now, like we should have been years ago, or this is it. So, what do you want?"

"Rose, I- I don't know what to say. I- I feel-"

"You feel what?" she asked. He was finally about to tell her how he felt, something she hadn't expected to ever hear at the rate they were going.

"I don't think this is the best time to talk about this-"

"Well, this is the time we've got. I love you, Scorpius. I always have and I can't believe I didn't say anything before-"

"I don't feel the same." He blurted out, interrupting her speech.

"What?"

"I don't- I see you as just a friend, Rose. I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I was stupid for coming up to you like this." she said, hoping she could get away from this conversation before she could start crying. She wasn't completely sure what had just happened. He didn't even seem the least bit remorseful about rejecting her. "I have to go, the ceremony is starting soon."

"Please don't walk away Rose, I don't want to lose you. I- Can we still be friends?" She didn't even dignify that with a response as she continued walking without looking back. She had meant what she said to him. Either they were together, or they were done. Realization hit her like a brick. He didn't want her. He didn't love her. He didn't even seem to care much about her anymore. She squeezed back into the row she was sitting in with her parents, brother and Zack. Her mom knew immediately that something was wrong, and went into concerned mother mode.

"Honey, are you ok? What's wrong?" She didn't feel like answering, so she didn't; she just shook her head and smiled enough that her mom would drop the subject. She turned away, which was a big mistake, considering she was now looking into Zack's concerned eyes. He didn't have to say anything to her for her to know what he was asking with his eyes. She didn't have to answer for him to know what had happened.

* * *

><p>Lucy swore she could go another 50 years without anyone ever talking to her again. People had never been more annoying than they were today. They were all talking to her, asking her questions, wanting to know if she needed anything, when really she only wanted to be left alone. Surprisingly enough, James had been one of the only people that understood that. They never hung out when they saw each other, but today she had spent most of her time hanging around him and he had let her. They weren't talking or anything, they had just been there for each other silently, and that was all she really needed. Until of course, more people had tried to talk to her and James took that opportunity to find solace somewhere else, leaving her to deal with the ravenous funeral guests. She'd had to pretend to cry to get them to leave her alone, and snuck off into the nearest closet she could find. She was enjoying her new hiding spot, until of course, Louis found her. Like James, he didn't say much of anything, but he sat with her while she just took a moment to herself to think. They had to have been sitting there close to an hour, and she was surprised no one had come looking for them considering the ceremony was scheduled to start and hour and a half ago.<p>

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I'd really prefer you didn't, Louis."

"Ok. It's just that I-"

"My previous answer was the nice way of saying no. No questions. If you're going to talk, the door's right there; Feel free to talk to someone out there." He looked a little shocked by how rude she was being, but that was the only way she'd get him to shut up. She had not had time to process anything because everyone had wanted something from her, and she had no time to herself. This whole thing had just been way too much for her to handle, and she hadn't even gotten the chance to try and handle it yet.

"Lucy, the ceremony is about to start and they need you to come on. We've waited long enough." Lily said, peeking her head into the closet where she and Louis had been hiding from the chaos outside. She looked annoyingly happy, and was being very bubbly and positive. It was why Lucy had been avoiding her. All of their lives, Louis had been the one Lucy went to when she had a crisis. Mainly because he didn't talk much, and he was a realist. Lily was her best friend, but she will talk your ear off and try to use ridiculous sayings to make you feel better, and Lucy wasn't in the mood for aimless chatter. Lucy didn't know if Lily expected a response to her statement, but she didn't leave.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, turning away and closing the door. It hadn't been a second before she swung the door wide open and barged in. "Are you ok? Seriously, don't give me some kind of general answer. I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't know why everyone's making a big bloody deal out of this."

"A big bloody deal? Lucy it's your-"

"Lily, she says she's fine. Lay off." Louis snapped. Lucy felt bad that he'd yelled at Lily, but she could be downright annoying at the worst possible times. She pursed her lips and let out a labored sigh before plastering on her Lily smile and walking out of the room. Lucy didn't understand why everyone was so sad. This was the circle of life, this is the way things happen. Today it was happening to Lucy, but one day it would happen to everyone else too. It wasn't something they could control, it was just… life. "You know, she's only trying to help, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm here too, always, if you need to talk. Hugo's here too… somewhere; and while I prefer you talk to me, you can go to him if necessary. We're always here." She couldn't help but laugh at his naivety, but gave him a hug anyway.

"You won't always be anywhere Louis. Isn't that what today is all about?" she asked before exiting the room. She didn't need to be coddled, or lectured, or preached at. She was absolutely fine. She could hear Louis following behind, and they walked silently in to the huge Ministry ballroom. Lucy was surprised to see that so many people had shown up for this. She didn't even know half of these people, but they all held the same expression that Lucy had seen all week. She had thought that by being a little late she'd miss a little of the ceremony, but of course they had waited for her. She took her seat between her sister and grandmother, both weeping their eyes out. It couldn't be healthy to cry as much as Molly had in this past week. Lucy hadn't shed a single tear. She watched as Kingsley walked to the podium in the front of the room, and noticed that even he had a tear in his eye.

"Friends and family, we have come here today to lay one of our own, Percy Weasley, to rest." Lucy could barely hear the rest of Kingsley's speech because the sounds her mother was making were ringing through her ears from 2 seats away. She guessed, if anyone could really be sad it was her mom. She had loved and put up with the most difficult man on earth for the majority of her life. That sucked. "On behalf of the Weasley family, thank you for showing your ongoing love and support to a great man who died protecting his friends and family. And now, we will hear from Percy's youngest daughter, Lucy Weasley." If Lucy had never gone to WADA, the feeling of everyone's eyes turning to her would have made her die of embarrassment. (She realized it was too soon for funeral puns, even if it was only in her head.) Today she simply smiled and made the short walk to the podium where Kingsley, who had never shown her any sing of compassion before, gave her a hug. She didn't need anyone's sympathy. She was fine.

"Umm, hi-" she started, before dropping her note cards all over the floor. James laughed, which was refreshing, but Kingsley reached to pick them up, but she waved him off. "Leave them, they're blank anyway."

She had to stay very focused to not laugh, as James was smirking at her. No one had told her the proper way to give a eulogy, but at this moment she realized she probably could have written something down.

"Go on." he mouthed.

"Ok, hi. I am here to speak on behalf of my father, Percy Weasley. If you're wondering why me and not Molly, then you're thinking the exact same thing I was when they told me I was to write this eulogy. My dad is, well was- I mean, he… this is all just very overwhelming, you know? Throughout this whole situation, there have just been a lot of people. People I've never seen before or heard of, but they all seem to know my dad so well. Everyone just keeps talking to me about my father as if the pleasantries are going to make any of this go away. Ugh, everyone's just talking and talking and talking. They're saying what a great man he was, and that he was a 'jokester' around the office, and that he was so understanding, and heroic, and all of these really things and I'm just really shocked. These people, I mean you people, can't be talking about my dad. I mean, people have been saying he was _funny_. Seriously? Here's something funny; he actually requested that I do this, which is pretty ironic. I mean, he wanted me to speak at his funeral, but for the last two years of my life he couldn't speak to me face-to-face. He was funny _that_ way, I guess, if you look at it that way. All of these stories of him being a 'funny guy' at the office, being some kind of jokester or something; that all sounds like a load of crap to me." At this point she wasn't even trying to form a relatively poignant speech. She was just speaking from the heart. She and her dad hadn't spoken, so this was her chance to tell him exactly how she felt.

"Now he's some kind of hero because he threw himself in front of some creepy, new-age, magic spell bomb? Who does that? A very, very selfless person that cared about others, and that was most certainly not my father. I lived with the man for my entire life and I can't say a damned thing about him really. Nothing of substance at least. I know he liked his coffee black, and he didn't like to be bothered early in the mornings, and that he wasn't really one for expressing feelings. I know he loved my mom. He for sure loved her; she was the only one that could get him to see reason on anything. He loved my sister Molly; she was his pride and joy and he told everyone that every chance he could. He loved his parents, his brothers and sister, all of my cousins, the Potters' dog, my mom's cat, and his job. I guess all of that love for so many people could be why he never had any left for me. I guess the truth is that my dad was a loving guy to almost everyone else. When it came to me, Percy Weasley was judgmental, cold, distant, and never satisfied."

"Not once did he tell me I did good on anything, or congratulated me on anything. He saw me sing once, walked straight out of the room, and apparated away. I guess if I had to say something nice, I'd say that he really pushed me to do my best in everything I do. He hated that singing is what I do, and because of that, I decided to make it without him, and prove to him that it was worth something. Or… maybe I wanted to prove to him that I am something, and I think I have. I'm top of my class, one of the youngest advanced students at my school, and damn proud of it. So thank you dad. I couldn't have done it without you." She said as she walked away from the podium. People were staring at her like she'd just lost her mind, but she didn't care. She couldn't stand the crying coming from her mom, so she walked straight out of the ballroom. She didn't need to be at this funeral, because she'd had one for him in her mind months ago. He had been dead to her for a while now.

* * *

><p>Molly could not believe her little sister right now. She didn't understand how someone could be so selfish and rude at their own father's funeral. Lucy had always been a drama queen, but this was too much. She stormed out of the room after her sister, and couldn't wait to scream her head off. She had let this bratty, self-loathing thing go on long enough. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and it was time she started acting like it.<p>

"Lucy!" she screamed, through the halls. She had no idea where she could have gone, but it couldn't be far considering she couldn't apparate. "Lucy!" She saw a bunch of people that looked like waiters standing in front of the door to the room where the reception was supposed to take place. They were all banging on the door, so Molly figured she'd go see what the problem was. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

"A little girl just ran in while we weren't looking and locked herself inside and put a silencing charm on the door. We weren't done setting up, and Percy was very specific in his will about how he wanted the day's events to pan out." That sounded like her dad. "We really need to get in there, we think she's-"

"Alohamora!" Molly shouted, unlocking the door. She wasn't sure why these grown-ups hadn't thought to do that, but she didn't have time to think about it. "Can you just give me a second alone with her?" She asked as she opened the door and locked it back. Once inside, she realized why her sister had put a silencing charm on the room in the first place. As soon as Molly walked in, all she could hear was Lucy cursing and glass breaking.

"Why would you make me do that?" her sister asked no one, "You want to embarrass me one last good time? Show all of your friends why I was such a disappointment?" She knocked a vase onto the ground and stepped on it when it didn't break into a million tiny pieces like everything else she'd obviously thrown. "Well congratulations dad, everyone probably thinks I'm some kind of psycho, ungrateful brat. Now I'm the bad guy and you're the dead guy that everyone feels sorry for! Is that what you wanted?"

"Lucy?"

"Bastard!" she screamed, as she threw a plate on the ground furiously. "Fucking, bastard! I hate you! I hate you, you asshole!" With every word, another piece of dining ware was smashed. "Do you hear me? I hate you!" She was about to throw something else, but Molly rushed up to her and grabbed the plate from her hand before she could release it.

"Lucy, stop this! Have you gone mad?" she didn't answer, she just stared at Molly with a hollow look. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm grieving." she said with a sick little smile. "Leave."

"No, I won't leave until you start acting like you have some sense! Is this how you were raised to behave? Do you want attention that badly?" Lucy only laughed in response, and now Molly was beginning to wonder if she needed psychiatric attention. She was and "artist", maybe this was her big diva meltdown.

"What exactly is so funny?"

"You! For the love of Merlin, you sound just like him!" she said, laughing as if she'd told the funniest joke in the world. The smile from her laughter disappeared quickly, and the angry look came back to her eye. "You're just like him. Get out! Get out, now!" She threw a cup at Molly, but luckily she moved out of the way before it hit her. Her sister went crazy, throwing anything in sight, and Molly was about to go get their Aunt Hermione and have Lucy sedated. She didn't want to leave her here alone though, so she just let her be for about five minutes. She had never seen her sister, who was so tiny and usually so polite, act so wild. She knew Lucy's relationship with their dad had been strained, but she didn't know she had been hurting this badly about it. Either she was running out of glassware, or was just too tired to throw anything else, but eventually the younger girl fell to her hands and knees, no doubt falling into a pile of broken glass. Molly ran up to her, and could tell she was crying by the way her shoulders were moving up and down. She wanted to give her a moment, but she knew that with every movement, glass was going deeper and deeper into her sister's skin. She used her feet to clear as much glass from around Lucy as she could before taking a seat in front of her. She reached out to smooth her sister's hair, but she flinched as soon as she touched her.

"Lucy, I don't want you to get hurt, I just want to help and I need you to sit up, sweetie. Is there glass in your hands?" she asked. Lucy stayed on her hands and knees with her head down, but nodded that there was glass in her hands, and probably in her knees and legs too. She scooted over so that she could pull her up by her arms, and sat her in her lap. She could see where glass had cut all over her legs and a good bit of her arms. It was so thick in her hands that the blood hadn't even begun to fall yet. Lucy clung to Molly so tight that she could feel her crying, and couldn't tell whose tears were falling down her neck. She just let Lucy cry as she tended to her cuts. She wasn't sure how to heal them, but she knew of a potion that had helped her Aunt and Uncles back during the second wizarding war. She figured since this was the ministry, they had to have some of it lying around somewhere. "Accio dittany!" she called. For a moment she thought that nothing would happen, but a tiny bottle came floating in the room a few seconds later and she caught it before it could add to the sea of glass already covering the room.

She began methodically dabbing it onto her sister's cuts, and they didn't go away completely, but the blood stopped flowing and the cuts closed up. She did this all over her legs, only having to pull out a few pieces of glass. Her knees were a little trickier, but she eventually got them cleared up as well. The real challenge was her hands, which had been impaled with many pieces of different sized glass. She knew she couldn't get them out without hurting her, but it wasn't safe for it to sit in her skin any longer. She decided to do a numbing spell on her hands, so that she wouldn't feel it when she began pulling the glass from her hands. She wasn't at all qualified to do this, but she didn't want her wiping her tears and accidentally scratching her face, either. Molly worked like a machine until all of the glass was gone, but her hands were practically red from all of the blood that she had lost. Molly wasn't great with blood, but she was even worse with seeing her little sister hurt, so she could ignore it for right now.

"Molly."

"Yeah?"

"My dad is dead. He's really, really gone."

"I know, honey. I know."

"I'm sorry. He's dead, and I think…I think it was my fault. I'm really, really sorry." She moved Lucy's head off of her shoulders so that she could look at her eyes. They were heavy and worn down with guilt and sadness. She really thought it was her fault.

"Of course it wasn't your fault, how could it have been?"

"I think the universe was trying to teach me a lesson. The last time I saw him, I told him he was out of my life for good and that I'd never let him back. I said those horrible things, but I didn't mean them Molly, I swear I didn't want him to die! I was just saying those things because I was angry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to kill him." she sobbed.

"You did not kill him Lucy," she said as firmly as she could. "It was an accident." No girl should feel like they killed their father, and she didn't want Lucy to drive herself crazy with those kinds of thoughts.

"But, you don't understand. The last memory I have of him is him leaving me, and now he's gone. I can't apologize, or explain why I was so mad, or tell him that somehow, even though he didn't feel the same, that I love him."

"Dad loved you Lucy, and more than that he admired you. You may not have seen it, but he did. You and he were nothing alike, and I think that's what he loved most about you."

"But-"

"You're so strong, and confident, and you stand behind the things you believe no matter who decides to stand with you. Something it took me years to figure out. You don't buckle under pressure, and you sure as hell don't blindly follow others. You are everything that Percy Weasley was not when he went to Hogwarts, and I don't think he knew how to verbalize that to you without making you feel like it was a bad thing. I do know that he loved you, and I don't ever want you to doubt it, or forget it ok?"

"Ok."

"I mean it. He loved you and is proud of you. And nobody thinks you killed him, that isn't even a remote possibility, so don't torture yourself with that. You're my only sister, I love you more than anything is this world, and if you hurt, I hurt. So either we're miserable together, or we can get through this together, as sisters. Either way, I'm with you. I'll even transfer to WADA if you want; we can start a fashion department together." This made Lucy smile, which Molly was glad to see.

"You'd really do that for me? With only a month left at Hogwarts?"

"I'd do anything for you, Luce. So what's it gonna be? Are we gonna mope or cope?"

"Cope."

"Good choice." Moments like this reminded Molly of how much her sister trusted her. She really wished they could spend more time together, but she could see that being on her own had really helped Lucy come into her own. She removed the numbing spell from her hands ripped her scarf in half so that she could use them as bandages. She wrapped both hands tightly and brushed away the strands of hair that had stuck to her face with tears. "Does that feel better?"

"Much better. You'd make a good Healer."

"Me? No way. I just did this on instinct."

"Exactly. That's why you'd be good at it. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're kind of gentle and…maternal."

"Maternal?" She had received many compliments in her day, and maternal certainly hadn't been one of them. Years ago she would have been offended, pissed even. But hearing it now made her feel proud. In light of why they were here or what had happened, she felt like she had really grown up. "Do we have to go back into that ceremony?"

"Yes. I think that you and dad need a moment, now that you've said what you're really feeling out loud. You can say goodbye properly, ok?"

"Ok." the two girls stood up and Molly grabbed her sister's hand lightly as they walked back into the ceremony. Their Aunt Ginny was in the middle of a tearful speech, but stopped when the girls came through the door. Everyone watched as Molly Lucy walk down the aisle; Molly covered in Lucy's blood, and Lucy covered in cuts and with bandages wrapped on her hands. None of that was important though as they approached the coffin. It was closed, because of the way that their father had passed, but that was fine for what Lucy needed to do.

"Go ahead, Lucy. Tell him what you want to say." she whispered.

"I'm really sorry, dad. I didn't mean those things I said and I never wanted you out of my life. I just wanted- I wanted you to want me in yours. Please, forgive me. I love you." She kissed the coffin, and that was enough to send Molly over the edge. "Goodbye, daddy." The two of them tearfully walked back to their seats and the ceremony continued. Molly knew what people really thought of her dad, and that most of them were right. He wasn't upfront with his feelings, he wasn't wasteful when it came to compliments or praise, and he didn't smile much. But what they didn't know, was how much he loved his girls, and how much what Lucy said would have warmed his heart if that were possible. She knew her dad was proud, and that he was smiling that rare smile, wherever he was.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: A lot going on in this chapter. Nothing against Percy, I just wanted to give Lucy a bit more depth. Also, don't hate me with Rose and Scorpius. Let's just think of them as a modern day Vic and Teddy. You guys know I like to make these characters work for what they want :-)_**

**_-Jazz_**


	37. I'm With You

"I'm looking for a place  
>I'm searching for a face<br>Is anybody here I know  
>'Cause nothing's going right<br>And everything's a mess  
>And no one likes to be alone<br>Isn't anyone trying to find me?  
>Won't somebody come take me home?"<p>

-Avril Lavigne

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flashback<strong>_

_Dom was massively frustrated with this entire movie night deal, and could not wait for it to be over. It had taken an enormous toll on her social life, and the day was finally here. The event started in less than an hour, and her co-chair, Rose, was nowhere to be found. At first, Dom had been a little pissed that Lex chose Rose -who wasn't even a prefect yet- to help Dom with the project. On second thought she realized that the little brat would probably be a huge help and help expedite the whole planning process. It had worked, but now Rose felt she could just take a break, and if Dom didn't get a break no one else did either. She marched into the Gryffindor common room, surprised to see that Rose was not there._

"_Have you seen Rose?" Dom asked no particular person in the Weasley Section._

"_No, check Scorpius and Al's room." Hugo answered rather calmly. Dominique seemed to be one of few people that found Rose's affinity to be found in Scorpius' room a little more than odd._

"_She spends way too much time in there." James said with a grimace on his face. "Send her down here if you find her." He said, sounding rather bossy. She raised an eyebrow curiously, certain that he hadn't been talking to her that way. "Please."_

"_Fine. You all better be at the movie night, I worked my arse off to get it together. As a matter of fact, go now. I'm sure there's something you could do."_

"_Are you serious?" Fred whined._

"_Yes, I'm serious. Get up, all of you. Go!" she instructed, not moving until they were all out of their seats. Once the last Weasley had walked out of the door, she went to go find Rose. Dom had had a growing suspicion that something was going on between Rose and Scorpius. Granted, the suspicions had been growing for about 5 years, so some development on that front was way past due. She didn't even bother knocking as she opened the boys' door, though she was more than shocked at what she saw inside. She let them continue for a few seconds, but cleared her throat loudly, causing Scorpius to stop tickling Lily, and Lily to stop laughing like a psychotic hyena._

"_Ok, this is so gross on so many levels, I cannot even begin to explain." She said to the unlikely pair. "James sent me up here to get Rose, but I'm going to assume and pray that she's not up here. Was she not invited to your little party?"_

"_We were just joking around, Dom." Lily said, her words laced with guilt and probably embarrassment. "Seriously, I only came to-"_

"_Spare me the details Lily, my lips are sealed. But just to feed my dramatic soul, does Rose know about what's going on here?"_

"_There's nothing going on here." Scopius answered, while Lily's cheeks continued to grow red._

"_Lily, you should probably go downstairs. If James was peeved about Rose being in here…"_

"_I'm leaving." She said, as she squeezed by Dom and out of the door. Dom could only stare at her fellow blonde, disappointed in how he was behaving, but mostly intrigued by the juiciness of this situation. Of course he would go for his best friend's sister instead of the girl everyone had expected him to end up with; classic._

"_You're a sick, sick little boy, Scorpius Malfoy. Rose is practically in love with you, and Lily's only like 11. Ew."_

"_She's 13, actually." He said, sounding rather defensive. Dom couldn't help but laugh at how uncomfortable he seemed._

"_Oh, is she 13? That makes this so much better. What do you think that sweet, understanding Grandfather of yours would say? I'm sure he'd be delighted about this new… well, I'm torn between whether this is a development or a time bomb."_

"_No one asked for your opinion; it isn't any of your business." Dom was surprised by how much all of this pissed her off. She certainly wasn't the most affectionate toward her family, but in this moment she felt oddly protective of both of the younger girls. She made fun of them often, but it was ok for her to do it. When other people hurt them it tugged on her heart strings. A little._

"_You're leading on two of my rather sensitive and naive cousins, who are practically sisters, and one of them is going to end up hurt. Not to mention the guilt that the one you choose will feel for upsetting the other, but I'm sure you haven't thought of that. And you think that's none of my business?" _

"_No."_

"_Well, be very happy that I'm the one that found you up here because I'm feeling oddly generous today and I'm going to help you with your little predicament. Now I'm only going to say this once: choose Rose. Lily will get over it, it's probably just a little crush." He looked like he was weighing his options and she hoped he saw it the way she did. "Seriously. Choose Rose and get a "firm talking to" from Hugo, or choose Lily and get your arse beaten to a bloody pulp by Hugo, James, Al, Fred, Teddy, Louis, and Rose. Seems like a simple choice to me."_

"_I'll definitely consider your advice." He said, as his signature smirk creeped back on his face. "But if you're still looking for Rose, you can try Zack Longbottom's room."_

"_I will do just that." She said, trying to hide her surprise at the idea that Rose would be with Zack. There was no way Rose was the cute little fourth year he gushed about and had dumped her for. She walked down one flight of stairs, reaching the 5__th__ year boys' dorms and invited herself in. Much to her surprise, Rose was in there, but luckily she wasn't in some compromising position like her younger cousin. If anything she looked rather uncomfortable. "Hey you two, what's going on?"_

"_Rose was tutoring me, then we kind of got side tracked. Now I'm tutoring her on how to approach Scorpius Malfoy." This just kept getting better and better. Zack liked Rose, Rose liked Scorpius, Scorpius liked both Lily and Rose, and Lily liked Scorpius; and Dom was the only person that knew all of this. Rose hit Zack on the arm, looking embarrassed that he'd told Dom about their little secret. _

"_You're going to ask Scorpius out? How ironic."_

"_What's ironic?" Rose asked. _

"_You don't know what ironic means?" Dom asked._

"_Of course I know what it means, I don't get what's ironic about the situation."_

"_Yeah. We don't have time to talk about this, movie night starts in an hour and you, the co-chair, were supposed to be down there ages ago. Let's get moving."_

_The two of them walked quietly to the Great Hall to finish getting everything set up. Dom could admit that Rose wasn't her favorite person in the world, but it sucked that she had no idea that she was being played. She was going to keep on thinking she and Scorpius were meant to be, and then eventually she'd be blindsided by the fact that he was totally into Lily. And for some reason, all of that was making Dom feel really terrible for what she was about to do. Carter would be completely blindsided by her little stunt if she let it go on. All of the students had filed in and the lights dimmed, signaling the start of the movie._

_As soon as the music began to play, Dominique started to get nervous. She felt worse and worse about her idea. She could see Carter and Hollis sitting together from where she was, and they looked perfectly content. Neither of them had the slightest clue that Dominique was about to ruin them in front of the entire school. Then again, no one ever had to know it was her. It was just the principle of the whole thing that was tripping her up, and she didn't want this to ruin her conscience. She decided she couldn't go through with it, and made her way to the screen to unplug the cord, or smash thee player, or something. She was almost there when Lex stopped her._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_I just need to make sure something is set up correctly, you know, just quadruple check."_

"_Everything is fine, you've done a good job. Just sit back and enjoy it."_

"_But-"_

"_This is not a request, it's an order. Go enjoy the movie." He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around before giving her a nudge back towards her seat. Great. Just as the crowd was really getting into the movie, the screen went blank, forcing groans from all of the students watching. The picture came back a short while later, showing Hollis sitting with Carter, Linden, James and Fred like they usually did. Nothing bad, but Dom had made the film, and she knew that things were going to get a lot worse. _

_The next shot cut to Hollis and Carter walking hand in hand through a hallway, before fading into the same hallway that was now seemingly empty. After a few seconds, you could hear someone snogging in nearby closet. Any regular student would just assume it was Carter and Hollis, but judging by the look on his face, he knew that wasn't him in the shot. Before anything was revealed, a shot of Hollis and Linden, who were engrossed in conversation until Nate Creswell walked by, waving shyly at Hollis._

"_**Why is Nate waving at you like a little school girl with a crush? Are you into him or smething?" Linden asked.**_

"_**God no, he's a good for nothing, brainless idiot and I wouldn't be caught dead fawning over him."**_

"_**No need to get so defensive, I'm just making an observation. He looks completely smitten by you, it's weird."**_

"_**Well, don't think anything of it. I'm happily committed to Carter."**__ Hollis completely contradicted herself in the next shot, where she was seen walking out of the same broom closet from before hand in hand with Nate, who said he would see her next time. At this, the audience gasped loudly. Some were laughing, some were shaking their heads, but none of it was good. In the next shot, Hollis walked into the prefect's bathroom while Dom was putting on her make-up. She had to stop this_

"_**Hey butch! Putting your face on so everyone doesn't see how hideous you really are?"**_

"_**Fancy seeing you here, considering you aren't a prefect."**_

"_**Bryce Weston, a Ravenclaw prefect gave me a key."**_

"_**I can only imagine what you had to do to get that from him."**_

"_**I don't kiss and tell Cinderella."**_

"_**Was that supposed to be an insult? You are aware that Cinderella got Prince Charming in the end, right?"**_

"_**Whatever. I've got your Prince Charming now. I stole him from you then and I'll keep him from you until I'm done with him or feel that you've been punished long enough for causing me such emotional stress with your existence. Nobody wants you butch. Not your family, not Zack, and especially not Carter. You're and insufferable bitch and I hope you-"**__ Dominique wished that she could have gotten to the screen sooner. She couldn't have turned it off fast enough, and even though the movie was no longer playing, there was no mistaking the damage it had caused. Carter ran out of the room, and Hollis followed as the students pointed, laughed, and called her names._

"_Everybody get out!" Dom screamed in a gust of panic and regret. "Movie's over!"_

* * *

><p>The WeasleyPotter clan was up at the crack of dawn cleaning, since the whole movie fiasco had pretty much ruined the night. Dom felt like shit about the whole thing. In the aftermath of the night's events, she couldn't even remember why she'd done it in the first place. She had no clue what would possess her to do something so awful to another person, no matter how badly they deserved it. She wished she hadn't done it, but no matter what guilt she may be feeling over it, what's done was done and there was nothing that could be changed about it now. She had kind of hoped Carter would seem a little more enthused about not having to deal with the wench again, but that had definitely not been the case.

"Who wants to break down the screen and all that stuff?" Lex asked.

"I'll do it!" Rose chimed. Of course she would. Dom was going to let the little goody goody do it until she realized how stupid that was.

"No!" she screamed, causing everyone to look at her like she'd lost it. "Um, I just meant I'll do it, Rose. You know, since you did so many others things to help plan."

"Uh, whatever." Dom tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as she sauntered behind the movie screen. She knew that the original copy was Rose's, because they used to watch it at her house all of the time. If she saw the version Dom had tampered with, she would know something was up. "Actually Dom, I'll just get the movie. You know how my mom is about her-" Dom barely had time to shove the movie behind her back before Rose was standing right in front of her. Rose looked at her like she'd grown a second head, but ignored it and rummaged through the bag. If Dom could she would just mutter a charm and transfigure a movie to look like hers, but she couldn't reach her wand without looking suspicious or dropping the movie.

"It's not in here."

"Oh? Maybe a student stole it."

"No students were back here. What are you holding behind your back?" Good grief, this girl was relentless.

"It's none of your god damned business, that's what." Rose moved her feet really fast, as if she was trying to trick Dom into going the wrong way. "What are you doing? Stop it!" Rose lunged around Dominique, but she was quicker than her cousin. She backed up and thought she had won, until Rose whipped out her wand and muttered a summoning charm so fast that Dom wouldn't have known what happened if she hadn't seen the movie fly from behind her back.

"Why would you try to steal my movie? Wait, this isn't mine."

"Exactly, now give it back."

"Movie night version two? Is this…Did _you_ do this?"

"I've never seen that in my life-"

"It has your name on it. It says _Movie night version two, by Dominique._"

"Fine, it's mine. Now give it back and shut your little mouth before I hex it shut."

"I can't believe you, Dominique! You did this! What. Is. _Wrong_ with you, you sick, twisted, evil girl?"

"I was just trying to help a friend! You would have done the same-"

"I would never publicly embarrass my classmates all for some sick twisted revenge. Is this all because he didn't choose you over her 4 years ago? Pathetic." Clearly, the video had shown nothing if Rose could honestly say Dom was the pathetic one.

"Rose, you don't even know the whole story, so just leave it."

"I won't!" she said indignantly as she marched out towards the family. Dom was seriously going to have to murder her own cousin right now.

"Get back here Rose! I swear you better stop walking or I'll make you."

"Make me? How are you going to _make_ me?" she said fiercely, "I'm telling your mum."

"Oh no, I'm shaking in my school robes because Rose is going to tell on me to my mum!" she mocked, "What are we, 5? Grow up."

"I need to grow up?"

"Yes!"

"Woah woah, what's going on here?" James asked, causing the rest of the family to stop what they were doing and watch the fight unfold. It looked like Rose was going to answer, but another person interrupted. Carter stumbled into the Great Hall obviously sensing the discomfort lingering in the air. He looked like shit. Dom felt really bad that she was the reason he looked so torn up.

"Is this bad timing?" he asked hoarsely, "I forgot my jacket in here last night, so…"

"Here you go man." James said, tossing him the jacket. He made for the door, until he was stopped by Dom's least favorite Weasley of the freaking day.

"Carter, wait!" Rose screamed. Dom couldn't resist punching the girl in the arm. He looked back at her expectantly and Dom was praying that Rose had ever heard of the term bros before hoes. "I uh, just wanted to say sorry about last night. You just can't expect much from people these days." she said as she kicked Dom subtly.

"Yeh, how was I to know the girl I was dating was a complete mental case." Dom snorted loudly, earning another kick from Rose which she gladly returned. She knew he was in a bad place, but Dom had spent _years _trying to get him to see that very thing.

"Wh- what happened was terrible," Rose continued, "I h-hope whoever did it is punished. Dom, is there anything you'd like to add?"

"No, not really."

"You know nothing about what happened last night? As a prefect, I would expect you to say something if you knew-"

"Wait, Rose, do _you_ know who did it?" Roxy asked. Of course, because her bark is much worse than her bite, Rose went red with embarrassment. She was such a coward. "Rose, if you know something and don't say anything you're being a hypocrite."

"I didn't do it-"

"Well obviously, but you know who did. Tell us, Rose."

"I- well, umm...I-" Everyone was looking at Rose who looked like she was going to have an aneurism.

"Bloody fucking-" Dom said before she sighed deeply. She'd come clean; it didn't matter what anyone thought about her for it either. "I did it."

"What?" Everyone said in unison, except for Rose, who had the audacity to say she was sorry.

"You heard me; I switched the tape, I exposed Hollis, I destroyed Rome, and I'm sure before my time is up I'll do a lot more fucked up shit. There!" Carter simply hung his head sadly before walking out of the door. Great.

"You're despicable," Rose said. Dom was literally going to scream if Rose spoke to her again. "How could you tell him like that?"

"Are you kidding me? You practically shoved your hand in my back and made me say the words."

"Well, I expected you to have at least one ounce of remorse when you said it!"

"Yeah, that's not likely."

"Ugh, I can't even stand to look at you right now. You're so disappointing."

"yeah yeah, if I had a dime for every time I heard that I could buy my diploma from this wretched place and be on my own already. I don't care if you think I'm some huge disappointment and you saying it won't make me change, so save your breath."

"You would think you would just have a little more respect for yourself-"

"You are not my mother Rose Weasley; you don't own me nor do I take orders from you. God, you're so freaking annoying. You want to know why Scorpius doesn't want you? This is why. It's because you've got your wand stuck so far up your arse that even Scorpius, who spends most of his time up there, couldn't find it. Although, I'm pretty sure he's more interested in Lily's arse now, but you knew that."

"You're such a liar! Why would you even make up something like that?"

"Oh, so you didn't know? Seems to me I'm the only one that _isn't _lying to you, then. You're welcome for that."

"Shut up! You're the biggest bitch in this school. I'm sorry that your life is perpetually shitty but maybe you wouldn't be having such a hard time if you were-"

"If I was what? If I was as prim and perfect as you?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to!"

"And neither did you! You walk around this school as if you know everything about everybody but you hardly know yourself. Nobody likes you Dominique, _nobody._"

"Rosie." Louis said calmly sensing this was getting a little too out of hand.

"No Louis, I'm done tip toeing around her feelings like the rest of you do. I'm not afraid to call her out on what a horrible person she is."

"Is that so? Go ahead, say what you have to say Rose. I want to know just what you think you know about me."

"Well, I um..uh-"

"Jesus Rose, spit it out; I haven't got all day."

"That, right there! You're _way_ too full of yourself. I don't know if you were aware but there are other people on the planet, we aren't all just here to entertain you and run on your time. You think you're so special because the half-wits in this school fall on their knees in front of you and worship the ground you walk on. So what if millions of boys like you? Have you ever stopped to wonder if they actually like you or if they just want a quick go with you?"

"Rosie, watch it." Louis tried again, but Rose wasn't stopping

"It's disgusting the way you use guys to make yourself feel better. It's part of the reason you don't have any friends-" Dom was going to protest but clearly Rose was not allowing it. "Oh, please don't tell me you thought your little minions were your friends. They just do what you say so you won't turn on them; but you will anyway because you can never let anyone get too close, otherwise they might find out the person you truly are. We're your family Dominique. The only people practically forced to like you, and even we can't stand you! We are all you have and you treat us like shit. Any of us would be glad to be shot of you once and for all if we could, but unfortunately, unlike the boys that have all made speedy get away's, we're _stuck_ with you." Rose wasn't able to get any other insults out because Dominique slapped her so hard they probably heard it all the way in the dungeons. She felt kind of bad for hitting her, but she was saying really awful things; she deserved it!

Rose held her hand to her cheek in disbelief, still breathing heavily from her high-spirited rant. "Sorry." she said weakly before turning and walking out of the common room with Hugo hot on her heels. Dom looked at the faces of her family surrounding her and was shocked to see disappointment etched on the familiar faces.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? You heard what she said to me!" Dom said defending herself, because if she didn't, who would?

"That's enough Dom, you're completely out of line!" James shouted.

"I'm out of line? You've got to be shitting me, J! She was calling me every name she's ever read in those ruddy books of hers."

"Like you don't deserve it."

"What was that, Al? You want to start with me? Finally got the balls?"

"Whatever." Albus huffed before making his way to the door, clearly going after Rose.

"Oh right, go run after the big baby like you always do." She called to him. "When are you going to grow a pair and stop babying her? Maybe if you paid her less attention and gave your girlfriend a minute of your time-"

"Stop, Dominique. Just stop." He said as he continued out of the room.

"You're such a bloody pushover-"

"Hey! He's only being nice, why don't you try it!" a squeaky voice added from the corner.

"Oh look, it speaks! "Be nice." That's great advice Lils!" she answered sarcastically. "So how about since I am so awful, maybe you and Scorpius could teach me how to be nice, seeing as the pair of you have been so nice to Rose lately. I'd be honored to learn from you guys." Lily turned bright red before turning on her heels and leaving.

"Roxy, aren't you holier than thou; the almighty righter of wrongs? Shouldn't you be following her?" Roxy held up her fingers in a very derogatory gesture and made her way out of the Great Hall. "Right back at you, babe." Dom was in no mood to be messed with right now and she would throw as many insults as were necessary until the whole room was empty.

"Calm down, let's just talk about this." Fred said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I visible to you now?" she asked with a hollow laugh. "Someone please alert the media, Fred remembers that his poor old slag of a cousin still exists. You all of a sudden want to talk to me? I don't think so. Screw you." She said, mentally checking him off of her list as he walked out of the door. There were only two of them left.

"I don't know what we did to make you hate us so much-"

"Not now, James. I'm seriously not in the mood for you trying to fix everything. Just forget about me and leave me alone, it's what you're best at. It's what all of you are best at." He balled his fists up in anger, but didn't argue. He simply walked out like the rest of them. This is what her life had come to. No one even wanted to fight for her anymore. Now she really couldn't wait to be off the map, magicless, and living a normal life.

"Dom, why are you doing this?" Louis asked.

"You know, I really expected at least one of you to take my side for once. Just once. Everybody just coddled Rose like she hadn't just gone psycho on me. It may seem like I'm a mean, heartless, bitch, but I tell you all the truth; the things people don't say because of who our parents are, but you all are so used to being everyone's favorite that you can't handle it. I know I can take it too far sometimes and despite what everyone thinks I'm not being rude, I'm being honest,-but of course I'm out of line and everyone is pissed at me. Just as always."

"We're family, there aren't supposed to be sides. Don't you get that?" he asked. Even her brother didn't understand her.

"Just leave me alone Louis."

"Fine, I'll leave you alone, but just think a little harder before you keep burning bridges with family. You never know when you may need to cross back." he said softly before exiting the common room.

Getting rid of 8 Weasley's in less than 15 minutes? She'd possibly just set a new record. They were all being absolutely ridiculous. The whole thing started because she was trying to get back at Hollis. He wasn't supposed to find out that she did it, and Dom would never have guessed that it would have given Rose such a complex. She hadn't meant to slap her, but she had honestly been saying horrible things. She knew they all thought she was a little too friendly, but a slag? They couldn't honestly believe that she had slept with _every _guy they saw her with, could they? Surely they knew she was better than that.

She'd been seen with tons of guys but she hadn't _been _with any of them. The number of girls Fred had been with far surpassed the few relationships she'd had. She wasn't some wanton slag; she was still a virgin, not that anyone would ever believe her. Did her family really hate her? Sure, she'd said and done some things she'd regretted, but never had she wished to not be a family with them anymore. When it came down to it, all she had was her family. Apparently not anymore. She was finally completely alone, something she had begged for for so many years. She had lost so many years of her life being upset, disappointed and looked over, and she was tired. Tired of all of it. Too tired to apologize to Carter, or her family, or to care at all. But of course, that was a lie. Of course she cared. Everyone wanted to be wanted, right? It just seemed crazy to her that not one single person she knew thought she was worth fighting for.


	38. Welcome To Mystery

"This is a place where your mind can escape  
>All the problems today and go far, far away<br>This is a time with no history  
>Feel no misery, come and visit me<br>Welcome to mystery"

-Plain White T's

* * *

><p><em>For the rest of the day, Rose had pretty much stayed to herself. Her parents were getting along well, Zack and Hugo were practically attached to the hip, and she had replayed the run-in with Scorpius in her head over and over again since it happened. She wouldn't exactly call it a run-in, it was something closer to a train wreck. More specifically, it was the most embarrassing moment of her short life. Rose Weasley took a risk, and boy did she make a bad decision. Not only did he not like her, he liked someone else. And to think she had the nerve to just go up to him and pour her heart out, expecting some kind of romantic moment where they realized how great the other was and how each day apart had been a day wasted. Yeah, not the case. They had arrived to The Burrow after the funeral and they were all just lazing about; helping their grandmother when asked or entertaining each other. She had chosen to brood by the pond far from the big, crowded house, alone. At least this way, her day couldn't get any worse.<em>

"_I have to say, you take rejection way better than I thought you would."_

"_And here I was just thinking my day couldn't get any worse."_

"_Guess you spoke too soon, then." She rolled her eyes and looked at the intruder with a glare, hoping it would make her go away._

"_Are you here to physically assault me again?"_

"_No, actually I was thinking I'd just call you a bunch of nasty names in front of the entire family."_

"_Ugh. What do you want, Dom?"_

"_Listen, I know we have had issues in the past-"_

"_Like when you slapped me?" she asked with a mocking smile._

"_Yes. And when you called me a bitch, and a slut, and evil, and heartless and-"_

"_I get it, I get it. We both acted like idiots." Dom chuckled a bit and Rose shook her head at the memory. For the two of them, that was about as close to an apology as it was going to get today._

"_You may not remember, but I wasn't always this way. I mean before the attitude and the skirts and the make-up, you know?"_

"_I was 11, I remember. What's your point?"_

"_My point is that I wasn't always so sure of myself. I was practically in love with Carter Thomas and he didn't reciprocate those feelings a bit. I mean, looking back there may have been something there but he had already chosen Hollis. So I didn't actually get told no, but I was rejected and practically shunned, and I get it." She didn't want to open up to Dom particularly, but the girl had a point. If anyone would get what Rose was going through, it was her._

"_How did you get over it?"_

"_I'm not sure I ever got over it. If I had I wouldn't have made some of the decisions I made, and I think you'll agree that they were some pretty terrible decisions. I completely changed into who I thought he wanted me to be, and it was the worst thing I ever did. Don't ever lose yourself trying to make someone love and appreciate you when they clearly just aren't capable. It just doesn't work. "_

"_So what do I do? I don't want to feel like this forever."_

"_You won't have to feel it forever if you just let yourself feel it now. It sounds stupid, but it's true. I made myself suffer by not dealing with my feelings and pretending I didn't care, which ended up only hurting me more. Don't shut off your emotions or bottle it up Rose. What do you feel?"_

"_I don't know-"_

"_Oh come on, you know. Go back and think about it, and then just say whatever you feel."_

"_Well for starters I feel really stupid. Really, really stupid. I feel hurt, shocked, betrayed, second best. I feel like I might have just lost my best friend. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I don't know how he and I can move past this. This other girl, she'll be hanging around eventually right? That's going to suck, to have to spend time with the person you know is better than you were. I mean, what's wrong with me? Why am I not even worth a chance, but some girl I don't even know is good enough? We're best friends, shouldn't I know if the bloke fancies another girl? And why not tell me before? Why wait until I'm practically forcing you to tell me? And just the way it happened, I was so sure he'd say yes and then had nothing to say when he said no. I'm completely embarrassed; I couldn't face him ever again even if I wanted to. Did I mention I feel stupid?"_

"_But you aren't, and you know that. You know what I think you should do?"_

"_No, what?"_

"_I think you should have some fun." Rose made to leave, but Dom grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the grass. "I'm serious! Go back to school with hair curled and your head held high and just live a little. Introduce yourself to your roommates, get to know them, make friends, go to a party, get in some trouble, be young, ask a boy to Hogsmead-_

"_Oh, yeah right. Ask a boy to Hogsmead so I can get another 'no'? I don't think so."_

"_Well then don't ask someone that's going to say no."_

"_You must have me mistaken for yourself. I don't have a line of boys that fancy me waiting outside of the Gryffindor common room."_

"_But you do have one. It's quality that matters, not quantity, Rose." There was only one other person that liked her, or technically he'd be the only one she thought._

"_You mean Zack? How did you know?"_

"_What do you mean how do I know? He broke up with me for you didn't he? Said he wanted to 'do things properly by you'."_

"_What? No, that can't be true."_

"_It's true, I swear. And I'm not saying just give him a chance because Scorpius said no, but I think he really likes you and he's a good guy. You've had all your eggs in one basket since you were 9 years old and if you just let yourself see how great you are, you'd realize how many other people feel the same way. Don't let one stupid guy get you down, because things will start looking up for you again. It's like when you're reading a book you know? The last few pages weren't great but this isn't the end, just the beginning of a new, better chapter." Rose let out a long sigh. For once, Dominique Weasley was right. (Not that Rose was going to say it or anything)._

"_So… have fun you say?"_

"_Fun. F-U-N. And do it for you, not just because you want people to see you having fun. You have to truly let go and enjoy yourself." she said as she got up and dusted off her pants. Some giggling and yelling interrupted the tiny silence, and they turned to see Lily being chased by Fred and James. Rose looked Dom in the eyes, and saw a sad smile on her face. She realized that it wasn't indifference that she was always expressing, it was all just a mask to cover up feelings she'd been hiding from everyone, from herself._

"_Maybe you should do the same. You're young too and I just- you used to be a lot of fun."_

"_Yeah, maybe I should. Oh, and this," she said as she waved her hands through the air between us, "doesn't mean we're friends or anything."_

"_I know. Thanks." She added, with a soft smile._

"_You're welcome."_

* * *

><p>It had been a week, and as far as having fun went, Rose had failed. She, Al and Scorpius were currently in the library studying. It wasn't like she hadn't tried, you just couldn't jump into something like that. She wanted to have all of her assignments done so she could start "living a little" this weekend. She could say that things with Scorpius hadn't been as awful as she'd imagined. She had curled her hair and held her head high and walked through the halls as if she hadn't a care in the world. And it had helped. She and Scor more or less ignored each other. Well, she ignored him and made sure they were never alone, and acted as if nothing had changed when they were with Al or anyone else that knew them well. She couldn't figure out who the girl he fancied was, but she figured it was really none of her business.<p>

"Crap. I got the wrong book, I have to go get a later edition." Al said.

"I'll get it for you!" Rose offered quickly.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of finding a book Rose." Yeah, but she wasn't capable of sitting at this table alone with Scorpius for more than 5 seconds.

"I know you're fully capable, but I was about to go anyway and I don't see the point in both of us going."

"Why not let Al get both?" Scorpius suggested.

"Nah, I'll do it." She said as she snatched Al's book away and got her own as well. She rushed off before either could protest and almost screamed out loud when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind.

"A source of enjoyment, amusement or pleasure; playful, often noisy, activity; to behave playfully or joke."

"Zack, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about fun. Studying does not fit into the textbook definition of fun, which is what you said you were going to be doing from now on."

"I have to study first. I'll be no fun at all if I'm worrying about my grades the whole time and you know it. You can join us if you'd like."

"I can't. I have to have fun first."

"What?" she asked, not able to hold in a laugh.

"I won't be able to focus on studying if I'm worrying about all the fun things I could be doing instead and you know it."

"True. Sad, but true. Wait, if you aren't here to study, what are you in the library for?"

"I'll give you one guess."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, I told you I don't need you to check up on me, I'm fine."

"But I'm boooored! Can't you just take a teensy little study break with me? I promise I will not keep you long. 20 minutes tops, and you can get right back to studying if you start to worry too much. What do you say?"

"20 minutes, that's it?"

"You have my word."

"Fine, I'll go tell the boys." It couldn't hurt to take a little break, she figured.

"Splendid! I'll be waiting outside." He said, grinning like a kid on Christmas. She picked up the book for Al and headed back to the table, where she had been studying.

"Here you go, Al." she said handing him the book.

"This is the wrong book."

"Oh, sorry. I must have gotten distracted." She said as she began packing up her things. "Well, I'll see you guys in a bit."

"Where are you going?"

"Taking a break. I'll only be 20 minutes."

"But you never take breaks when you study, you said it gets you out of your zone."

"Well there's a first time for everything Scorpius. Maybe you guys should take a break, you look a bit knackered. See you!" she said as she headed for the door. Well, that felt great! And she didn't hear footsteps behind her so they were either fine with it or in a state of shock. "Alright Zack, where are we going?"

"To my favorite place in all of Hogwarts. Come on." He led her through hallway after hallway, outside, past the greenhouse, to a part of Hogwarts that she didn't even know existed. They had already used about 10 minutes of their time walking, but sheer curiosity kept her feet moving instead of asking him to take her back. Hand in hand, the two of them weaved through the school, not caring who saw them together. Finally they came to a very small garden that was too perfect to not have been placed there on purpose. The grass seemed greener than she even knew possible, and there were flowers of every color surrounding a tranquil fountain. There was a medium sized tree where a few birds had stopped to perch, and butterflies flew around them happily. Her favorite part of it was a stone bench in front of a cobblestone wall that had been over taken by roses, and she could picture herself reading for hours. It was absolutely breathtaking, and she couldn't believe he had brought her here.

"So what do you think? I call it Zack's paradise." He said as he sat in the grass and motioned for her to do the same.

"How did you find this place? It's beautiful."

"It's my dad's doing, though he doesn't come out here anymore. He started it while he was in Hogwarts then passed on the clues for me to find it in my first year. Of course, he couldn't just tell me where the blasted place was like a normal person. It took a lot of decoding and searching to find it, and I've kept it a secret for 5 years. I come out here to think sometimes or to just be alone, except for now of course. I've never seen any other students out here and it really is peaceful, so you're welcome to come here whenever you want. As long as you're alone, of course."

"And you've never brought anyone out here before?"

"Nope, you're the first. I trust you, and I think you could use a place to yourself now more than ever."

"It's amazing, really. Thanks for sharing it with me."

"For you? Anything." He said with a shrug as he lay back in the grass. Rose followed suit, and took in the sights around her. For a while, the pair just relaxed and enjoyed the silence and their surroundings. She could imagine Neville searching for a place to be on his own from time to time where he could think and garden. It really was a magical place with the array of flowers and romantic set-up. It was a special place that you had to understand to appreciate. The fact that Zack was so attached to this place showed a lot about who he was. Either he was a great sweet talker and a player that knew how just what to do to get a girl interested, or he really appreciated serenity and beauty and the sentimental bond it created with his father. The more she got to know him, the more she thought it was the second option.

"I can't figure you out, Longbottom." She said suddenly. "I feel like I know you really well, but I just don't get you."

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."

"That's what I mean!" she said laughing. "You're this cool and popular guy with tons of friends, yet here you are in a garden with me quoting Albert Einstein, of all people. And one of my favorite quotes, at that."

"You've heard that quote?"

"Yes. How do you know it?"

"Would you believe me if I said I read it in a book? Second year in muggle studies we had to do essays on a muggle we thought was brilliant. I chose Albert Einstein because he looked like an absolute loon and I figured if I had to write an essay I might as well be able to get a kick out of it. I found that quote in a book and I guess it just stuck with me. How about you?"

"When I was younger, I would spend all day making these really hideous drawings just to have something to do. They weren't any good but I'd make dozens a day and give them to anyone that would take them. I'm pretty sure I gave your dad at least five of them; I was a bit obnoxious about it. Most people just put them away in a drawer or threw them away, and I didn't care because I could just make a hundred more the next day. Anyway, I was snooping around my parent's things once and saw that my mum had kept every single horrible picture I'd drawn for her. I asked her why she kept them and she said because they were beautiful. Of course I was floored because I'm not kidding you they _were_ horrible and asked how she could find them beautiful if she didn't even know what they were, and she read me that quote. 'The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious, Rosie. Or at least Albert Einstein thinks so.' I didn't really get it at first, but I do now."

"It's like a reminder that not understanding something doesn't mean you have to give up on it. If you don't give up on it, if you really try to understand it, then you can truly see the beauty in it." He said looking her in the eye. She blushed under his intense gaze and turned back to the sky.

"I agree."

"We should go back."

"What? But you promised me twenty minutes!"

"It's been over an hour Rose. Don't tell me you've let go so much that you lost track of time. I'm so proud."

"I think I needed it. Let's stay longer."

"Oh no, one of us has to be smart and it's not likely to be me, so back to studying it is."

"Spoilsport." She mumbled, even though she got up and headed for the castle. She did feel much better having gotten away from the confines of the castle. Zack was really sweet and a lot smarter than he let on. He never made her feel stupid, he listened to her all of the time, even when she was rambling and never seemed to get bored of listening. He was completely ok with who she was and never made fun of her for being so focused on her studies. There were never awkward moments between them and they seemed to balance each other out. She liked Zack Longbottom, and she had no idea how she hadn't realized it before. Like when they met, or when they used to study together, or when he comforted her at Percy's funeral, or hung out with her brother. Was she that wrapped up in Scorpius Malfoy that she hadn't even realized her own feelings for someone else? The sound of Zack giving the Fat Lady the password broke her mental rant.

"Well, back to reality."

"Guess so. But thanks for helping me escape, even for just a second."

"It was my pleasure. In you go." She walked in and gave his hand a small squeeze before letting go and walking into the common room a few steps ahead. If anyone saw them coming in together, they didn't say anything or seem to care. No one would suspect that she had just been hanging out with Zack Longbottom, but maybe they should know. There was no use keeping their friendship a secret, especially since it was so unfair to him. She wasn't ashamed of him, why not just be up front about it. Who cares what anyone else thought. He was walking towards the boys' dorms when it happened. She didn't know why she did it at that moment, but the words were coming out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Hey, Longbottom!" she screamed, making him stop in mid-step and catching the attention of everyone in the common room. "Zack!"

"Yeah?" he asked, with a smirk on his face, although she could see he was taken aback by her public outburst. As far as he knew, she didn't want her family to find out.

"This weekend, would you maybe want to go to Hogsmead with me?" he raised an eyebrow in shock, but regained his composure quickly and got a wicked gleam in his eye.

"You mean like on a date?" She narrowed her eyes at him and worked really hard to not laugh. He was really trying to give everyone a show. Two could play that game, though.

"Yes, like a date. You in?"

"You paying?"

"You wish." He tilted his head as if he was weighing his options, before breaking out into a grin.

"Yes. I'll absolutely go on a date with you."

"I figured as much. See you then." Rose could practically hear the steam coming out of James ears and the sound of all her cousins' jaws dropping to the floor. Rather than face them, she chose to go to her room. She didn't want them to ruin her good moment with their bickering and whining. She knew she shouldn't be thinking of him at a time like this, but she was glad Scorpius hadn't witnessed that. Not that he'd care, but she didn't want him to think she was using Zack to make him jealous. She knew they'd have to talk eventually, but it was time for her to focus on herself now and do the things she wanted. And right now, she wanted to get to know Zack and all of his mysteries. She knew there was more to him and she didn't want to give up on him or count him out. She wanted to give him a chance, and see where that would take her. She truly didn't know what the outcome of this would be, but she felt like things were starting to look up for her.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Oh boy, it's been a while. Sorry about that!**_


	39. Every Time pt 1

**Hello everyone!**

**I am SO sorry about not updating for so long. No big reason or story, but I'm back and I do plan on finishing because there are SO MANY holes and unanswered questions just lingering so I want to get it all done for you guys! Disclaimer: It's hard to pick one song for these kind of chapters so it's completely random lol Ok enough, here we go...**

* * *

><p>"Everytime I try to fly I fall<br>Without my wings I feel so small  
>I guess I need you, baby"<p>

-Britney Spears

* * *

><p><strong>H<strong>**ugo **

"Come on, Louis. It's 6 in the morning, I need sleep." Hugo complained for the millionth time. Seriously, he had the will of an ice cube in heat and Louis was like a mad slave driver. They'd been up since yesterday filling up balloons with all kinds of gross condiments. As always, Hugo had begun to help without a single question, but he was now questioning his unwavering loyalty as he tied up what had to be his 100th balloon. "I'm going to pass out soon."

"We can't sleep before we get this done. Besides, if we sleep now you know we won't wake up in time for the graduation. Molly was very clear about us not embarrassing her on purpose."

"Oversleeping would be an accident. What's the big deal with this anyway? You've never been interested in pranking before. Actually, you've never been interested in much of anything before."

"People can change, it's not illegal."

"You're right. Except most people change for the better, they don't spend two years flying under the radar and then turn into a prank master wreaking havoc on the school."

"I'm not wreaking havoc, I'm just trying to lighten things up a bit. Plus, now that James has gone soft someone has to fill the shoes of the new jokester."

"And you want it to be you?" Hugo said, snorting.

"No, I want it to be both of us." Hugo Weasley was a lot of things, but a prankster was not one of them. He didn't have the right sense of humor to come up with pranks, let alone the will to successfully complete one. Hugo also had no desire to be like James in any way, shape or form; unlike Louis, who had always kind of admired him. Well, maybe it was time for Hugo to change for the better. Louis wasn't his boss, and he didn't have to do everything he said.

"No, don't drag me into this." Louis raised his eyebrows, shocked at Hugo's blatant disobedience. "Come on man, if this is some kind of cry for help, you can just tell me what it's about."

"Thanks for the offer Aunt Hermione, I'll pass though."

"I won't take offense to that, you're mean when you've not slept."

"You're right, you're right. We might as well have a small nap. We can wake up at 9 and be in the Great Hall by 10. Right on time."

"Oh Merlin, thank you!"

"But you _are _helping me with this prank. So just get ready."

"Ugh. Fine."

* * *

><p><strong>Lex<strong>

Lex woke up feeling unusually cold. He had plenty of room to stretch, and was not suffocating under a mound of dark brown hair, which was the way he had woken up for the last three years. This was the fourth time this week that Roxy had gotten up at some time in the middle of the night. She had been really anxious about today and has been stressing out about it for an entire year. Of course, instead of just talking to him about it or believing him that everything was going to be fine, she escaped to the Astronomy Tower to think, or breathe, or do whatever it was that she did. He usually just let her be on these days, but he couldn't today. It felt wrong.

To no surprise, the halls were filled with 7th years, either doing their last bit of snogging in the sanctity of the broom closets, or taking their final midnight strolls through the halls. It was hard to not feel nostalgic about it all, but he was honestly too excited about the future to dwell much on the past. Lex was never to one to stick with a single thing for long in general; Roxy had obviously been the exception to that. These last few months of school had been rough for him and Roxy, and they were a bit off, but he didn't force it. He had hoped that by now she would be over it or would have accepted it, but clearly that wasn't the case. There was something eternally sad about seeing her staring out of the window unmoving, shoulders slumped. He truly didn't know what to do anymore, but this was his last shot at turning things around.

"Why are you up so early Rox?" he asked as he wrapped his robe around her shoulders. "And it's freezing up here."

"I couldn't sleep. I should have written a note or something."

"So is this going to be your thing now? Sneaking off to the Astronomy Tower in the wee hours of the morning to reflect on your miserable life? If you're going to be Head Girl, you're going to have a hard time fitting this into your schedule every night." He joked.

"Hmph."

"Or, you could just sleep and be a normal person."

"Maybe I'll occupy myself with a few boys. I'm sure I could find plenty of willing participants."

"You should have consulted with me sooner. I might have ruined that plan, unfortunately. I'm pretty sure I've put the fear of Merlin in all guys fourth year and above, and James and Fred have got the rest covered. Didn't even have to ask."

"I bet."

"Oh come on, really? You're going to be like this today? I hate to sound selfish, but this is my day after all. I haven't gotten a hug, a kiss, a smile, you've barely looked at me. This is our last night in-"

"I know! I know it's our last night here. Well your last night; it's just my last night here with you."

"And it's my last night here with you. I don't want to spend it trying to pull you out of this never ending funk that you've put yourself in for no reason."

"No reason? Everything is about to change! How do you not get that?"

"You think I don't get it? You think there's something that you've figured out that I don't have the capacity to understand? You're getting left behind but I'm the one leaving! You don't think that's hard for me? It's hard; especially with you skulking about and pointing it out every five seconds. I think about this every day and I feel like shit, but I can't help that I'm a year above you. Don't you think it's a little unfair to be piling on the guilt like this? I haven't said anything because I didn't want to upset you more, but I feel like…" He felt tired. Tired of all of it. Tired of this version of her. He didn't want anyone else, but Roxy was making their relationship impossible. He hated to point fingers, but he had tried to be understanding and supportive. He understood, maybe even more than she did, which is why he could cope with it better than she could.

"You feel like what?" she asked, looking at him for what seemed like the first time in months.

"I feel like I'm going to lose you over this, because you don't trust me. I think you're going to psych yourself out so much that you won't be able to trust me. You think that if I'm away from you for one second I'm going to fall out of love with you and be on to the next skirt that whizzes by. I don't want anyone else but you, and I don't know what else there is I can do to make you understand that. I tell you I love you every day, I show you every minute whether we're together or apart but I'm not going to be around next year to reassure you. Until this year I never thought you would be the kind of girl that needed that."

"Well excuse me for getting too attached. It was my mistake. Honestly."

"What do you want from me?" he asked, at a loss for the first time in a long time. He didn't know what she wanted or needed, but it was beginning to become a hassle to figure it out. "Just tell me what to do, because I don't know what else could possibly make you happy."

"Marry me."

"What?"

"Marry me. Today. That would reassure me."

"You trust more in a ring and a piece of paper than my word?"

"It's not just a ring and a piece of paper, it's an eternal bond between two people that feel so strongly for each other that they are willing to tie themselves to one another for the rest of their lives. That's what marriage is Lex."

"And you think you're ready for that? That's not what you want; you want me parading around next year with a ring on my finger as a mark that I belong to you. You don't want to marry me for "us." You don't even want to marry me for you right now, you just want it for everyone else. I thought we were on the same page about this."

"So did I." she said, turning back to the window. For the first time in their 3 years of being together, the 'perfect couple' was out of sync. And it felt like shit. "Maybe we aren't as perfect as we've made everyone believe."

"Maybe not." He realized that she had echoed his thoughts almost exactly, but he didn't think it would help much to bring it up. "Maybe we need to just take some time to think."

"Maybe."

"Right. Well, I'm going to get some sleep before I have to get up for the ceremony. You can join me, if you like." He said awkwardly. They had been sleeping in his room every night for about a year, and now he felt uncomfortable even hinting towards it.

"I should check on Molly and get my things together."

"Alright. For the record, I never intended for us to be perfect. I just wanted there to _be_ an us, and we have it. It's ours to lose."

* * *

><p><strong>Lily<strong>

Lily looked in the mirror at her features; the ones she'd been plagued with and would seemingly never escape. Everything about her was little. She had little blue eyes that her parents wouldn't allow her to enhance with makeup for another year. She had little lips, little ears, little hands; even her freckles seemed miniature, making room for more of them on her body. And let's not even get started on her complete lack of hips or curves of any kind. She could only hope that her mother wasn't a complete liar, and that these things would practically appear out of thin air someday. Apparently there was a time that Molly and Vic weren't so perfect, but Lily didn't recall it. If they had awkward stages, they had worn it very well.

The only thing Lily knew for a fact was that staring in the mirror wouldn't change a thing about her, so she deemed herself ready for the graduation. It's not like she had anyone to impress. Maybe she could milk this cute little girl thing to her benefit while she still had it. Maybe she wouldn't go the hot route Molly and Vic had taken, or the intriguing and intellectual route of Rose. She was definitely no Roxy; she wouldn't know how to be demure and sexy if there were instructions written on her bathroom mirror. Maybe she would just be cute, and sweet for now. And maybe someday that would turn into pretty and sweet- at the very least. She might be average, but that was ok. Maybe someone would like that. She decided to go up and check on the boys, who would no doubt still be sleeping. She didn't make it two steps before she saw _him._

"Red! You're up early."

"I see you've got on your perceptive pants today, Malfoy."

"And you've got on your condescending cap. Who pissed in your cauldron?"

"Sorry, I forgot who I was for a moment. I'm Lily Potter, I'm not allowed to be anything other than cheerful and accommodating and sweet."

"Is everything ok? Please don't be mad at me, Lil." She didn't get him one bit. One minute they hang out, one minute she's too young, the next day he wants to talk, and three days later he couldn't be seen with her. It was infuriating. She had never felt less wanted by a 'friend' in her life.

"How do you want me to be Scorpius? Happy? Excited? You tell me. Because you control everything around you, no one else gets a say."

"That's what you think? You think I just stomp my feet and bark orders and get my way?"

"No, I think you manipulate people and toy with their feelings and sprout out loads of crap so they think they are in control, but you're pulling the strings all along. So what is it that you want from me today Malfoy?"

"I just want you to be Lily. I don't want you to change too. Rose chose Zack." He said pathetically, "They're an actual thing, can you believe that?"

"Yeah I can believe that, because you practically told her to. You said… you said there was someone else."

"I just said that to protect her, of course there isn't anyone else." Lily knew it was far-fetched, but she had thought maybe_ she_ was the someone else. Scorpius had come to her a lot this year to talk about his Grandfather, who had been contacting him a lot. She had been there for him and they had both confided a lot in each other, and she had just thought that maybe, for once, it was her. But who was she kidding?

"Merlin, I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not. You know that."

"I don't know anything Malfoy, so you tell me. You don't like me, you don't like Rose, you lie and tell her there's someone else at our uncle's funeral of all places, so what is it? What's the truth?"

"I do like you, Lily. But the less you know, the better."

"Great. Story of my life." She brushed past him, trying to go on about her day and forget it ever happened. She honestly didn't care, and now it officially no longer concerned her.

"It's- it was never another girl. Or about a girl at all."

"It's… a boy then?" she asked cautiously. Her gossip craving nature over powering her need to storm off.

"No! No, it's not that it's-

"Complicated?" she offered. He nodded silently and smiled that stupid smile that she was stupid enough to fall in love with. It made her heart race and it was embarrassing, especially considering that he was very much not in love with her.

"It's my grandfather."

"He contacted you again?" she said quickly, forgetting her anger with him.

"Lily, I talk to you because I can trust you and because you listen to me, and you get me."

"And?"

"I have to tell you something but I need you to not get mad and let me explain, ok?"

"Fine. What?" she asked, starting to get really frustrated. Why did she let him do this? They had been talking for maybe 5 minutes and she'd gone through at least 15 emotions. She just wanted to know what the hell was going on, and then for him to leave her alone. He let out a long sigh, seemingly mirroring her frustration. "Just say it. It doesn't have to sound like poetry."

"Has your dad told you anything about the explosion at the ministry?"

"Not really. Only that the guys responsible looked young and that they were a part of some weird new cult or something. Why?"

"Those guys, well kids- it wasn't a cult." He stammered.

"Well what is it then?"

"Lily, there are people in the world that still value blood purity and such, even though their reasoning is really pathetic and outdated. Well those guys are mostly made up of kids whose parents were acquitted for being Death Eaters or siding with Voldemort during the war. They want to avenge their families and restore "order" to the wizarding world."

"What a crock of bull." She said, expecting him to agree right away. But instead of agreeing, he began to sneer. She started to get suspicious, and for the first time looked at him as a Malfoy- as a _them__**, **_not an us. He hadn't said it, but she thought he had way more to do with this new psycho cult than just hearing a little information.

"They don't think so. They think the idea that the "good" side was all good is the crock of bull."

"And what do you think? You seem pretty well informed." she asked. Even though she wanted to stay calm, she had a feeling this wouldn't end well. "What did you do?"

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy <strong>

This was the first time Lucy had been to Hogwarts since she had gotten into WADA. It used to seem big before, but now it was unfamiliar…and big. It had always been a place she thought would be her future home, but now it was just another place. She could no longer picture herself roaming the halls with Lily, or being a prefect, or becoming Head Girl. It was just a place that she didn't really belong. She knew nothing about this place or these people, but they knew plenty about her. She had probably been forgotten until the day she revealed what a complete wacko she really was. That was not the attention she thought she'd be getting, and probably not great for whatever future she may have had as a performer. She would guess that most people only knew her for one thing; Percy Weasley's daughter, who people thought was meek but turned out to be crazy the day of his funeral.

It had taken a lot of convincing and a few acting skills she'd gained at school to not be committed to St. Mungo's after that. She had not been thinking about all of the reporters that would be covering her father's funeral, or that they would cash it in for their entertainment. Once that hit the papers, it was like she could never escape what happened. Louis and Molly constantly wrote her asking if she was ok, her Mom was a mess, and everyone else just said nothing for fear of her going bat shit at a moment's notice. Until she went back to school, of course. The kids at WADA were more concerned with their personal careers than a silly story about Lucy. Well technically, she was their competition, and having such a bizarre story come out about her was probably great for them. Who would ever hire a nut case?

"Lucy? Lucy Weasley!" someone shouted. She braced herself for the oncoming condolenses and the routine of being polite to a complete stranger that knew everything about her, but was surprised by who she saw running towards her. As if they were the best of friends, he picked her up and spun her around. "Hey!"

"Lysander! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I go here. What are you doing here?"

"My sister goes here. She's graduating."

"Oh! That's right."

"Um, could you put me down please?"

"Right! Sorry. Well what are you doing out here all alone?" he asked, sitting on a bench behind her.

"That's how I roll. Solo."

"Well that can't be much fun. Where's the girl I always hear about in Lorcan's letters? Claire? I thought you two were inseperable?"

"She has to move away, unfortunately. I wanted to stay back and say goodbye, but I'm not really big on goodbyes."

"You could have fooled me." He joked, making her punch him in the arm. "What? Too soon?"

"A bit." She said, even though she was laughing. It must have been a pity laugh, because she did not find him funny.

"You're ok though, right? I mean, I read that stupid article. Horrible stuff."

"I am shocked that you read anything but yes, I'm fine. It's nice to know someone is thinking of me."

"Well don't worry about that, you are very well-known here."

"I know, the article-"

"Not the article, your cousins. It's always 'Lucy says this,' 'Lucy does it this way,' 'I can't wait to tell Lucy.' They talk about you all of the time."

"Well in that case I'm sorry, how bloody annoying?"

"It's cool. They just miss you."

"And what about you Lysander, do you miss me?" she teased. Why was she doing this? This was Lysander Scamander, pull it together.

"Oh no, never. No, no, no, there is no missing going on here. No, not me."

"Wow, I was just kidding but that was a lot of no's. One would have done fine, just for future reference."

"Sorry, I just don't want it to seem like- I mean I know you and Lorcan-"

"Are just friends. Seriously, lighten up a bit. I was kidding. Just a terrible attempt at trying to make a joke."

"Oh." He said, blushing and going quiet. Whatever embarrassment she thought she might have seen was gone within seconds, and he returned the stupid, goofy look that he always wore. "I bet you've gone all soft now that you recite poetry and play the piano all day. Probably no time for exercise or Quidditch or anything fun. Think you're still faster me?" he asked, referencing all of the times she'd smoked him racing when they were younger.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I don't kid Lucy Goose. Race you to the graduation?"

"Race? What are you 5?" she asked as stood from the bench and backed up slowly, squinting his eyes and smirking like an idiot. He really was a big, immature, idiot, so she didn't get why he was getting to her.

"5…4…"

"I'm not racing you-"

"3..."

"I'm serious-"

"2…"

Before he could even thinking about saying one, Lucy ran. She could hear him behind her, right on her heels, but she kept running. She was only doing this to prove she was faster. Or at least, that's what she was going to tell herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Al<strong>

Al was one of few Weasley's that was acting normal lately. Roxy had become a depressed mute, James had completely lost his edge, only Merlin knew where Fred was all of the time, and Dom had been around but she was still as distant as ever. That probably had something to do with the fact that they had never really discussed the big fight from Movie Night. Even Louis seemed out of sorts, and he usually never gave off any indication that he could register emotions. But Al couldn't fix them, or change them, or cheer them up because they were all a bunch of insufferable weirdos. He would turn to his roommate and best friend, but unfortunately he was the most insufferable of them all these days.

"You sure you don't want to go to the graduation Scor?"

"Yeah, I need to be packing for the train."

"Oh come on, leave it. I'm sure your presence won't go unnoticed by the Drama Queen of England." He joked, earning a grunt from his friend. "What's up? You were fine this morning then you came back all moody."

"I just don't want to go. Back off."

"You know what? You've been acting like a dick this whole year, and ever since the funeral it's like you're not even here."

"Seriously Al, back off. You don't even spend this much time worrying about Reid. You probably don't have the time to nurture your sham of a relationship since you seem to be so obsessed with what I'm doing."

"It's called friendship. And I have my relationship under control."

"You sure about that? Or is Reid just too nice to tell you what a total prat you are to her."

"Oh come off it, you don't know what you're talking about because you're never around to see what I do with Reid. I really don't get what's going on. Is this about Rose?"

"No! Why do you bring her up every two seconds? I have enough to deal with, with my family, and yours!"

"What does my family have to do with anything?" It looked like he wanted to say so much, but he just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "What? Can you not even talk about it?"

"It's just not something I can talk to _you _about."

"Right, because I'm not Lily? Don't think I don't know about you and her sneaking around and meeting up this year. She's 12!"

"She's 13. Al, you don't even have a fucking clue-"

"You're right! I don't even try to pretend like I have a fucking clue about anything anymore, but I don't like to be lied to. Now you're having some kind of secret friendship with my sister which… is just messed up on so many levels."

"Trust me, she wants nothing to do with me."

"Good. You better not want anything to do with her. She's young, and she's too caring and naïve. I don't want her trying to fix you because you're seriously messed up and you're not dragging her into whatever mess you're dealing with. And what about Rose? It's like everything was fine, then you guys could barely be in the same room with each other, now she's dating Zack Longbottom? I mean I guess he's a decent bloke, but I always thought you and her would end up together."

"Just leave it."

"Fine." He could be a real dick sometimes. Actually, most of the time these days.

"How was he?" Reid asked as he met her in the common room. If anything in his life was constant, it was Reid. Scorpius was wrong about her. She was always there no matter what and he may not show it, but he really appreciated her for it. Al couldn't even answer her question, he was so frustrated with Scor. He just led her out of the common room and down the stairs towards the Great Hall. "Was he that bad?"

"How do you think?" He was being an unbearable git."

"So nothing unusual, then. He's not coming for the graduation?"

"No, he's not. Now to talk to the other git." They barely escaped a staircase changing on them, only to literally almost be run over by the Drama Queen of England, herself. "Slow down Mo, where's the fire?"

"Forgot my stupid hat. Nice dress, Reid." Dress? He looked her over and she was in fact, wearing a dress. And even more, he could tell that she had put on a little make-up as well. How had he not noticed? He didn't even know what to say, he just stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

"Ah! So your eyes _are_ functioning properly. I was beginning to think you either hated it, or really didn't care."

"No, you look great! I've just been all over the place. Talk about gits, I'm the biggest one of all."

"It's ok, I know you've been worried about your friends and family. I'd hardly call that a disappointing quality."

"Yeah, but you're my friend too and I feel like you always get the short end of the stick with me. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Al. It's just how we work."

"I swear I'll do better. Starting now we can go on more dates and do more couple type things without Rose and Scor tagging along. And I'm not just saying that because neither of them want to hang out with me anymore."

"I don't need dates, or flowers, or any of that stuff and you know that. All we need is each other. You don't plan on going anywhere do you?"

"No."

"Then we're good."

"Fine. I'm still going to keep apologizing if you don't mind. You look so amazing and I just stood there ranting about Scorpius Malfoy, who even said that we don't-"

"Stop. Talking. It's really ok. I don't care what Scorpius says about us because he's just being miserable. You know misery loves company and he is now the most miserable person on this planet."

"I know, sorry."

"You're so sweet, please stop apologizing! Now come on, you need to talk to Rose before the ceremony starts."

"Fine. The dress is hot." He said as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Now there's the reaction I was looking for."

* * *

><p><strong>James <strong>

There was a list of things that James wanted to see in his life, but his brother attacking his girlfriends face did not make that list by a longshot.

"Please don't make me lose my lunch. It deserves a good home." He said as he used his arm to wedge the two apart. "And Reid, what would dear old daddy say about this choice of activity so early in the morning?"

"You wouldn't." she said, looking practically demonized. James raised an eyebrow evilly before bursting into laughter.

"I'm just kidding with you kids. Merlin, you should have seen your faces! Too funny." He said as he clapped his little brother on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you're a menace and it's a bloody riot."

"You think I'm menacing? Well that'll come in handy." This day was going better than he had originally thought; especially considering what he was about to have to do. Today, James Sirius Potter had to make his first kill. It was a pity, but this was how it had to be. Fourteen years of friendship- well about 10 years of friendship and 4 years of pure, raging hate- and it was all coming to a head today. He had thought it over for a week now, and was certain that this was the only way to solve their problems. A good, old fashioned, duel to the death.

"Rose, a word!" he called as he entered the common room. She looked up from her book for a second before rolling her eyes and continuing reading. The lack of respect he got these days was just astounding. He walked up to her and snatched the book away quickly.

"Hey, I was reading that-"

"Where is he?" James demanded.

"Where is who?"

"The Prime Minister! Who do you think? Where's Zack?"

"Oh!" she said, blushing and smiling. Gross. "He should be back any second, he just went to- wait, why do you care?"

"Well, because I'd like to have a little chat with him. We have a lot of catching up to do, you know. We can talk about the weather, classes, what method he used to corrupt my baby cousin into being stupid enough to go out with him."

"It was a love potion." She replied. "Tasted pretty good actually, such a pity it'll wear off in a few weeks."

"Don't mock me Rose, today is not the day."

"I'll mock anyone that says really crazy things to me at nine in the morning. And why is today not a good day?"

"You know what, I'll just find Longbottom myself." He said pulling out his wand. "Accio Marauder's Map!" The paper came flying to him and he thanked his lucky stars that he was a wizard. It made everything easier. Opening the map James was quickly reminded there was a graduation today by all of the feet scattered over the map, but he found the person he was looking for rather quickly. "I'll just be on my way then."

"I don't think this is a good idea-"

"Well as we can all see by your choice in company these days, your judgment is a bit clouded lately."

"I'm getting Linden!" she threatened, and he almost stopped. Almost. But this was more important…at the moment.

"Longbottom!" he shouted, causing many heads to turn his way, including the one he wanted to see mot at the moment. He looked confused, and tall…much taller than James remembered. "Flowers for me? Sorry Zack, I'm already taken."

"Don't flatter yourself Potter, they're for Rose."

"Ah. Speaking of Rose," he said before punching Longbottom in the jaw. He threw in another punch to the gut for good measure, "stay the hell away from her."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I don't want her hanging around with the likes of you. You stay the hell away from her and everyone else in my family or I won't hesitate to have this conversation again."

"Oh, come on! Don't you get sick of it? Pretending you care about others when really you only care about yourself? For Merlin's sake, you act like you give a crap about Rose dating someone, you just don't want her to date me, the one guy that refused to follow you around. If you really cared as much as you wanted people to believe, you would have noticed that Rose is happy, but you don't even see that. You're selfish and you don't even have a clue."

"And you do?" James yelled. "Don't talk to me about being selfish and clueless. You turned your back on us! Not the other way around. You ditched your real friends because you thought it would boost your popularity, and you didn't even bat an eye."

"I had to didn't I? Carter and Fred may be alright with living in your shadow, but I'm not. My dad casts a pretty big one himself so I don't want to add to that by sucking up to you of all people."

"What bloody shadow? What have I done that is worthy of casting a shadow of any sort? And even if I had the sort of influence that you seem to believe I have, why didn't you just say something? We were best friends, it's not like I wasn't there for you to talk to."

"We tried talking once, remember? It ended with us fighting in a deserted hallway. We'd still be pummeling each other if Teddy hadn't found us."

"Well you said I'd be, and I quote, 'a nobody if it weren't for Harry Potter.' And punched me."

"Right after you said that you were the only reason I would ever be relevant. And you punched me back."

"I really only said that because you already thought it. But remember how mad you got? You went all Hulk on me so I just started swinging." James said, laughing at the memory.

"Well I…apologize for being a better fighter than you and for what I said back then. I was 12 and it isn't true, if that makes you feel any better. You're Harry Potter's son and you're still a nobody." He said, making both of them laugh.

"True. I guess I too was 12, and stupid and I'm…well, mistakes were made on my part that I…regret and am at fault for." James said, struggling to just say what needed to be said. He was changed, but he wasn't a saint.

"Was that an apology? Poor Linden."

"Lucky for both of us I haven't had anything to apologize for-"

"James Sirius Potter!" Linden screamed.

"…yet."

"Is Zack bleeding?"

"Calm down Linden we aren't fighting, I just tripped." Zack lied.

"Well what do you call yourselves doing if you aren't fighting?" Rose asked.

"Calling a truce." James said, as he held out his hand for a handshake.

"Yeah, a truce." Zack said as they shook hands.

"Really?!" both girls asked in shock.

"Yes, is that so hard to believe, Love? Grudges are for children, I'd hope you ladies thought better of such immature behavior."

"Oh shut up James, you're the last person to talk about maturity." She said as she hit him playfully. Rose was meticulously looking over Longbottom's face, fussing over him just like her mom did all of the time.

"Are you sure you're alright, Zack?" she asked standing on the balls of her feet in a poor attempt to look him in the eye.

"I'm good, don't worry."

"Good." The pair began kissing and he had to turn away from discomfort.

"Enough, we get it, you like each other. Don't we all have somewhere to be right now?"

"Thank you James." Rose said as they walked towards the Great Hall. "not that I need your approval, but I'm glad I got it without you attacking him."

"You're welcome. Oh, I did punch him though. Twice."

"James!"

* * *

><p><strong>Yay awesome! I'm splitting this chapter into two parts because it's just the most! Thanks to everyone that said encouraging things during my...uh...hiatus? lol It was a big part of me getting this chapter up today!<strong>

**-Jazz**


	40. Every Time part 2

"Every time I see  
>You in my dreams<br>I see your face  
>It's haunting me<br>I guess I need you baby"

-Britney Spears

* * *

><p><strong>Roxy<strong>

* * *

><p>Roxy had never particularly liked graduations. They were supposedly a time for celebration, but she always saw the negatives in them the most. Graduations meant moving on, but they also meant distance. It felt like only yesterday when the Weasley section consisted of only four people; just Teddy, Vic, Molly and Roxy, and they mostly sat in silence aside from Molly's occasional ranting. There was much less drama within the family back then, and much less people that weren't family hanging around. They were a tight group, but they each had their own lives and did their own thing. Quidditch might have been their only common factor, but at the end of the day they still spent that quiet time together. They had all been equals then. Now Teddy and Vic were parents, and they had both graduated. Roxy was still close with them, but it wasn't how it used to be. At family gatherings they hung around with the adults if they even showed up at all. If they called now it was usually to babysit Lena, not to just say hello. They were obviously still the same, but it felt different seeing them these days. They had grown up and grown apart, but that was just what happened.<p>

"The ceremony starts in an hour and I'm giving you twenty minutes to find Lex before McGonogall finally loses her head." Molly said storming into the common room.

"What do you mean? He's not down there?"

"Haven't seen him all day! He better not have punked out; I didn't listen to him recite that stupid speech over and over again for there to not be a stupid speech! He was fine yesterday, and then- oh! Oh, no. No! Please tell me you didn't pull your depressed sad-sack card on today of all days!"

"He said we needed to take time apart."

"Well I would need space too if my girlfriend turned into soul feeding black hole. You're being ridiculous. At first it was cute because you guys are soul mates and yadda yadda but now it's just annoying."

"You're doing a terrible job of cheering me up."

"I'm not here to cheer _you_ up! Today is not about _you_, Roxanne Aurora Weasley! Give it a rest, would you? You're not the first girl to date an older guy at Hogwarts and you won't be the last. I'm sorry, but you are the worst! And it sucks because you used to the be the best. If anything, you should be happy that Lex has put up with this for half of the year because I can't stand you right now."

"You don't get it! Things are going to change."

"I don't get it? Right, because I haven't experienced any changes this year."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." Roxy said earnestly. She sometimes forgot about how much the explosion should have affected Molly because of how strong that girl could be during a crisis. It was unbelievable how well she had handled her father's death and Roxy was being insensitive. Again.

"It's fine. The point is, things do change. It's just how life works! You plan on killing yourself every time you anticipate a change in your life? I should have just talked to you from the start when Lex asked, but I never thought it would get this bad. You need to snap out of it, you big baby."

"He asked you to talk to me?"

"Three times a day for the last two months. But no, I thought 'Roxy's a big girl, she'll pull out of it on her own.' I guess that's my fault for just assuming you could handle things. So please, tell me what's up. And try to do it in like, 15 minutes or less."

"It's nothing." she said, causing Molly to visibly get angry. "Fine. But it's stupid."

"Spill!"

"I love him."

"Yes."

"I love him a lot."

"I get it. Move on to the problem- 14 minutes."

"That's it! I love him so much that I'm afraid to be without him. I'm afraid that he'll be fine, and I'll be miserable, then I'll looking stupid for caring so much while he's off frolicking around with other girls. I keep trying to find a reason to blame him for what's going on but I can't._ I'm_ ruining it because I'm afraid of being ruined. How selfish is that? I feel like I'm just not going to be enough, you know? He's brilliant, he's charming, he's going to have so many opportunities and I'm going to be here herding first years between classes and studying for N.E.W.T.S." Molly just sat there with her jaw on the floor for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and throwing her hand in the air in frustration.

"Do you want to know who the five hottest girls in Hogwarts are?" she asked pretty randomly. Roxy could admit to not being all there for the last few months, but she was pretty sure Molly's question had nothing to do with their conversation.

"No."

"You sure? Because I know the answer. How do I know? I know because my boyfriend talks about that stuff with his less advanced friends. I mean, you would never guess who they said, but we'll discuss that later. Do you want to know what Lex talks about constantly, no matter who he is hanging out with?"

"His new job?"

"You. Honestly, the kid loves you, and all of these delusions of the future that you've built up in your head are ruining your present. You are showing absolutely no faith in a guy that has been quite firmly planted by your side, and in spite of all of that he's _still _around! Doesn't that account for anything?"

"It isn't about faithfulness, I just know that time and distance changes people. It's changing us, but I take the blame for that. I acted childish this morning, and I pissed him off on purpose when he was only trying to comfort me. I get it, I'm selfish."

"Yes, you are. You definitely don't have to worry about how he'll do without you next year, because he got on just fine without you this year. The fear of change thing, you're just going to have to get over that. I mean, what do you plan to do after _you_ graduate? Hmm?" Molly asked. And with that question, Roxy knew the argument was over. She was officially the worst girlfriend on the planet.

"Oh."

"Oh, is right. You think that next year when you go off to play for whatever Quidditch Team it is you make, that Lex is going to mope around and shut you out? No. He'd be out practicing with you, even though he hates heights. He'd be getting you ready, even though you are a right bitch during your training. And he'd be pumping you up, even though he'd feel like shit on the inside because of how much he's going to miss you. But he'd be proud of you, and happy for you, so he'd do it anyway. He's been there for you through so much without question and today is the one day that he needs you to support him. You don't have to like it, but you have to be there."

"You're right."

"I'm...what?"

"You're right! You are right and I am wrong! I'm sorry." Molly squealed and jumped in the air before pushing Roxy towads the door.

"Yes! With five minutes to spare! Go find him and apologize, and make it good! Love you guys!" It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where he was, she just hoped that when she got there he wanted to see her. She passed family, friends, teachers, ghosts, but didn't stop until she saw the door to the Astronomy Tower. She found him there, sitting in the same place she had st every morning for weeks.

"Lex! What are you doing? You were supposed to be in the Great Hall ages ago!" She felt a huge sense of deja vu watching him sit there looking out of the window. If he wanted her to know exactly how he had felt, then he had succeeded. "Lex?"

"I've been thinking."

"Lex, I'm-"

"You were right. Maybe we need to re-evaluate what's going on here. If we end it now, while we are still somewhat alright, maybe we won't hate each other later on down the line." That was it. That was what she had been waiting for him to do this whole year, but she didn't feel relieved at all. She felt like she had failed someone that used to have all of the faith in the world in her. She had pushed and pushed, and he was finally letting go. "That's what you wanted all this time right? For me to break up with you."

"Yes. I mean, no. Not like this."

"How then? I'd like to get it exactly how you wanted it."

"No, that's not what I meant. I thought I wanted you to break up with me, but not because I didn't want to be with you. It's the complete opposite! I didn't want to you to forget about me, but I don't feel that way anymore! I know you could never forget me or try to replace me. I know I screwed up this year, and I'm sorry. I don't want to break up."

"That's it? That's supposed to fix it all?"

"I don't know what else to say. I love you!" she cried, pretty hysterically.

"You completely checked out on me Roxy-"

"I know, and I'm sorry! I'll do anything-"

"Will you let me talk?!" he yelled. "I'm not going to break up with you and you know it, so just...be quiet for a bloody minute, alright?" He had never yelled at her like that before, but she probably deserved it. She had really put him through the ringer this year. "I should be breaking up with you, but I can't fucking do it. Do you know how annoying that is?"

She wasn't sure if his question was rhetorical or not, but she chose to stay quiet. On the bright side, he didn't want to break up with her. So he didn't like her much right now, fine. They could work on that. She would have to apologize forever and walk on egg shells for a bit, but she could handle it. They were Roxy and Lex, and they weren't perfect, but that was ok because they were Roxy and Lex.

"Permission to speak?" she asked softly, entwining their hands. He looked at her and rolled his eyes playfully. At least, she thought it was playful. "How long are you going to be mad at me?"

"I don't know. Maybe until you start trusting me."

"I do trust you. I was just scared, and I still am. But I'd rather be scared and get through it with you, than be alone. I realize that now, and maybe it's too little too late but I get it. And I never thought you would cheat on me, but that was way better than admitting ti the fact that I was scared. You always talk about how strong I am. I didn't want to be that type of girl that's afraid to be alone, but I am when it comes to you." she finished. He let out a sigh, and she could see the tension slowly leaving his shoulders. Without giving it much thought, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. She was much shorter than him, and it was a bit awkward, but she wanted him to know she was there. "Are we good?"

"We're better. Should we take shots of Firewhiskey?"

"What?"

"To celebrate! We just got back together...emotionally or whatever. It would make me happy."

"Fine let's do it." She rolled her eyes at the fact thay he had a flask tucked away under is robes, but she was in no place to nag.

"Ladies first." he said, flashing that brilliant smile. "Just take it to the head, don't even taste it." She grabbed the flask and a took a swig, trying to take his advice, but failing. She had never been good at that and she braced herself for that awful burn, but it never came. She may not be an expert drinker, but she had tested almost every product her dad's shop had ever made.

"Lex! Was that what I think it was?!"

"Well, I've got a graduation to get to. See you down there!" he said before kissing her sloppily on the lips.

"See you there, honey!" she said in a bubbly voice, even though what she really wanted to do was ring her boyfriend's neck.

* * *

><p><strong>Rose<strong>

The graduation started in 45 minutes and the bench reserved for all of Molly's cousins and their guests was more than half empty. Zack, Linden and Lysander were there, but Rose, James and Lucy were the only Weasley's on time. Rose had no clue where the others were, and she hadn't even seen the majority of them in the common room or on the way down.

"We should have told everyone the ceremony started at 11, then everyone would have been here by 12." She said.

"I bet you a galleon Louis and Hugo are late and that one of them is missing an article of clothing." James teased.

"I'll take that bet." Zack responded. "I'm sure they'll both be underdressed." Seeing the two of them getting along for the past hour had been weird, but no one said anything about it so Rose left it alone. She still wanted to know what they had fought about, but neither would say, nor were they acting like there had ever been a problem. Boys could be so strange.

"Oh man, and I thought we were going to be late." Al said as he slid into his seat.

"Hey everyone!"

"Hi Reid!" Rose said, before doing a double take. "Reid? Oh my goodness, you look great!"

"Is that a dress?" Zack asked, "Who'd you steal that from geek?"

"I found it in your closet, freak."

"Well, green really isn't your color."

"Stop it Zack, she looks nice. The dress matches Al's eyes."

"Ugh."

"Thanks, Rose." Reid said, blushing slightly. Maybe she hadn't noticed about Al's eyes. Whoops. Rose turned her attention back to the front of the room, but could feel the aforementioned eyes boring down on her and making her uncomfortable. She ignored it for as long as she could, but it just got to be too much.

"Please just say whatever you have to say, Al." she whispered, not wanting the others to hear their conversation

"This is an actual thing with you and Zack? Like, this is really happening?" he asked.

"Well it's not an official thing, but it's a…thing in progress I guess. We're just having fun."

"How much fun? You better not have done...the grown up."

"Really Al? The grown up? Wow! Well, I know you're not doing it."

"You can't blame me for asking. He has a reputation."

"And so do I, when we're together we aren't those people. We're just us. That's why it works."

"I just don't get why it had to be such a secret for so long. We used to tell each other everything, now I feel like you've kept so many things from me."

"Maybe we're all just growing up. Some things in my life just have to be private. I didn't tell you about Zack before because I didn't know it would ever evolve into what it has."

"Exactly! And I always thought you and Scor-"

"There is no me and Scor, and let's face it; there probably never will be. He helped me realize that, and the sooner you realize it too, the sooner things can go back to the way they were. Or as close as we can get to how we were before. Plus, it's not exactly up for discussion. He likes someone else."

"Who?"

"I have no idea, I've barely spoken to him in weeks. I figured he would have at least told you, you guys are together all of the time."

"Yeah, and somehow I haven't really spoken to him in weeks either. This is the first I'm hearing of some other girl." He said, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Except..."

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one keeping secrets then."

"Hello family! Friends of family!" Roxy said in a cheery tone that she hadn't used in a while, before scooting in beside Reid.

"Cutting it close Rox, that is not good behavior for the future Head Girl." James teased.

"Well, I had to handle some business with Lex and it took longer than I expected."

"Oh, that's just gross."

"What?" she asked innocently.

* * *

><p><strong>Fred<strong>

Fred looked in the mirror one more time- just for kicks- before heading out for the graduation. If he went now, he could make it down there with a good twenty minutes to spare. He wasn't really one for rushing, as he preferred to take things in and appreciate them. He figured no one would mind too much. Someone was bound to come in later than him and it's not like he just wasn't going to show up at all. Just as he was about to leave, he heard footsteps coming from the girls' stairs. Dominique had come down, and was sitting in the Weasley section, looking out the window like she used to so long ago. He could have ignored her, but he found it hard to do himself. It was much asier to ignore someone as a group, because then he ouldn't take all of the blame. In this instance, just leaving her there would mean he was a prick, and he most definitely was not a prick.

"If you're late," he said startling her, "Molly will kill you."

"Shit, you scared me. I thought everyone had gone down already."

"Pretty much. I'm the last, except for you. Aren't you coming down?"

"I hadn't planned on it."

"Not interested in seeing a family member graduate? I get it. She hasn't supported you at all over the years, why bother showing up to see her reach a milestone in her life?"

"It's not that. I know she's been nice and I'm not trying to be cruel, I just thought it would be better if I didn't go."

"Better for who? You?"

"I'm just trying to minimize the amount of problems I cause in this family. It's a celebration for Molly, and I want her to enjoy it. That won't happen if I show up and have everyone else acting weird."

"You're the one that acts weird. You never come around anymore, when you do you just stare off into space, it's like you're not even really there."

"I don't come around often because the few times that I do I just get ignored. If I were to speak, someone would just jump down my throat and start an argument; and if I did get by with saying hello there wouldn't be much more for me to say afterwards."

"Fine. So it's everyone's fault that things are messed up, but it only takes one person to set things straight and I think it would mean a lot if it was you. You can change things, you just have to step up and do it. Don't blame everyone else if you aren't even going to give a good try yourself."

"Oh! That's easy. So you think I should just go up to them and say sorry? Brilliant plan."

"Well all I'm saying is it would be a good start."

"And if they don't forgive me?"

"They'll forgive you."

"Do you forgive me? For pushing you away?"

"Only if you'll forgive me for not trying harder to understand you. I gave up too easily, and I'm sorry."

"Done."

"See that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Yeah well no offense, but you're probably the easiest to convince. You hate conflict."

"You may be right about that. Not showing up to her graduation will definitely make Molly harder to convince-"

"Fine, I'll go."

"That's the spirit!" he said offering his arm, "Shall we?"

"We shall." The two walked through the halls with their arm linked like they used to when they were younger, except there was way less shoving and they weren't on some imaginary kick-ass adventure. "So, how are things in Freddy's world?"

"Well for one, nobody calls me Freddy. Sadly it never caught on."

"What? That's a shame. Great nickname."

"My sentiments exactly! I thought for sure everyone would be saying it by now."

"You see what happens when I'm not in the loop? Everything goes straight to shite!" she said, causing him to laugh. He really had forgotten how naturally funny she was. "So, Freddy, how are things with Gideon?"

"Boy wonder? He's great! Healthy as a horse; runs up and down the stadium of the Quidditch Pitch for fun at 5 am."

"I just got the best mental image! No wonder he's so fit. I might need to get my arse up 5 am, I suddenly have the urge to play Quidditch again."

"Bugger off, he's old enough to be your dad. Or a cool Uncle or something. Or Teddy. And you're related, and he looks like me so, please."

"Ugh, Teddy? Thanks. Consider that mental image ruined."

"Splendid." he said, as they entered the Great Hall in a fit of laughter. The entire row of Weasley's and plus one's turned around, completely silencing Dom. He saw what she meant; all together like that they did seem sort of intimidating. He stopped at the row where his family was seated and released Dom's arm, butshe just stood there like a deer in headlights. The glimpse of the old Dom that he had just seen was gone, but e refused to give up on her again. "Well, budge up people! We're not going to have to sit on laps are we? Scootch!"

They all started squeezing in, revealing enough room for about seven people. Fred motioned for Dom to have a seat, but the pleading in her eyes to not have to sit next to James was painfully obvious. Fred could sense James discomfort as well, so he decided to just sit between them for now. But things were going to have to change sometime, and he preferred sooner than later.

* * *

><p><strong>Louis<strong>

"Come on Hugo, we better hurry. The ceremony started 15 minutes ago." Louis shouted as he approached the doors to the Great Hall. Hugo was a few feet back, and Louis definitely wasn't going in there alone. This partner in crime thing was not going to work if his partner kept up his averrsion to crime. Or if he didn't get in better shape.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he panted. They had to get in there ASAP. The prank wouldn't work otherwise. He had listened to Lex practice his speech all week just so this could be timed perfectly and he would not miss his moment. As soon as he said that success wasn't going to just fall out of the sky, the graduates would be splattered wit balloons filled with all kinds of random things. Hugo finally caught up and bent over as he tried to regain his breath. "Just wait a second, ok?"

"Yes, I'm waiting. You really need to work out Hue."

"I meant wait to do this stupid prank."

"Why? You were on-board last night."

"No, last night I was forced to help you against my will when Lily wasn't awake to save me."

"You could have said no."

"I tried! I just don't get the point of this. Dropping crap filled balloons on the graduates?"

"It's going to be funny."

"Not for them."

"Well if they've earned their graduation they should be able to do a simple spell to dry themselves off."

"Louis, I hate to have to say this because you're a really nice bloke and you're probably not used to constructive criticism, but you aren't funny. Not even a little bit, man. It's the one thing- of all the things in the world- that you just aren't good at. Are you charming? Yes. Can you play every sport ever made at a professional level? Yes. Do you make the hearts of 13 year old girls everywhere flutter? Yes. But funny? You don't have a funny bone in your body."

"Not even a tiny one? Like in my elbow somewhere?"

"None."

"Well, damn. Now how am I going to get her to notice me?"

"Who?"

"Skyler Diggs." At the sound of her name, Hugo began to laugh uncontrollably. "And you said I wasn't funny."

"I'm sorry, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"How come?"

"Well for one, she's the Minister of Magic's neice."

"So?"

"And because she's a prim, proper, stuffy, Ravenclaw _and_ because she's Skyler Diggs."

"And I'm Louis Weasley!"

"I see what this is about. You just can't handle the fact that a girl wasn't completely melted by your charms. Welcome to the world of rejection."

"I don't get rejected. I have a 100 percent success rate Hugo. I asked her out a couple of days ago and she just said no."

"That's usually how rejection works. And technically you have like a 95% success rate, though I wouldn't recommend keeping track of that, you sound like prick."

"When I asked her why she wouldn't go out with me she said she liked fun guys, and that I wasn't funny. So I'm going to show her."

"This is a rubbish idea. She won't know it's you, you will have drenched her sister, and if anyone were to find out it was you, you would get in trouble. You have to find some other way to get her attention."

"Merlin, you're right. Hugo, I'm going to need your help with this."

"Me help you? With a girl? I don't think so."

"Yes! Don't you see? You're sensitive and emotional like a girl, you can help me woo her."

"You really are mean when you haven't slept-"

"Come on Hue, I'd do it for you in a heartbeat."

"Fine, I'll try. But I make no promises."

"Thanks, you're the best! Come on, let's get in before the blasted ceremony is over."

* * *

><p><strong>Molly<strong>

Graduations were so boring. Molly literally could have skipped it, except for the fact that her mom was going crazy over it. Her new thing as talking out your feeling when you feel them, and being emotionally naked and a lot of other pretty disturbing things. Passing on the emotional nudity, Molly had just been doing any and everything her mom asked to avoid her crying, or a lecture, or a speech about making her father proud. Not coming to this thing would have equaled a full two hour sessions with her mother's creepy shrink, so she had shown up. It was just as boring as the last 3 graduations she'd been to. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doors creaking open. Of course, it was Hugo and Louis running down the aisles of the Great Hall. Surprisingly, Molly couldn't care less if they were on time. Vic had freaked about it so much that she thought it meant something, but it didn't bother Molly in the least. Hugo slid into his seat giving Molly a thumbs up, and she pointed to her foot, causing him to look at his own, which weren't covered by shoes. At least they'd both worn pants.

Lex was giving a speech about moving on and growing apart that she'd heard one hundred times. She knew when to 'aww' and when to laugh without having to actually listen. Plus, the speech didn't really apply to them anyway. No one in their group was really moving very far or growing apart. Although her mom had made a very sad and draining case for Molly to move back home, she just couldn't. Like Lex had said, you need to embrace the past so you can live for now. Molly had come to terms with the past, and going back home would not help her keep living for now. She wasn't moving back home.

Plus, Kristina's father had bought her a really nice flat as a gift, and she had asked Molly to be her roommate. So she'd be living there while starting her internship at Teen Witch Weekly, which she had been really shocked that she even got . It could have been a pity thing, and she did not feel gulty if it was. She deserved the position, but her recent grades didn't exactly scream 'hireable.' Carson and Lex had somehow 'found' a flat right across the street from Kristina's. They swore they had found it way before Kristina told them about hers, but she didm't believe that for a second. Lex, to no one's surprise, had gotten a position assisting in the Department of Magical Law. He would be close by, and have special access to get in contact with a certain girl who would still be at Hogwarts. Unlike she could say for herself, she knew Lex and Roxy were getting married as soon as they could, despite their little rough patch. They had argued this morning because they loved each other so much that they can't be apart. Absolutely adorable, but ridiculous and annoying at the same time. She only hoped that they didn't elope this afternoon, or if they did elope, that they had the decency to invite her.

Carson was going into Auror training which was really hot, but Molly had her concerns about the whole thing. Not only was it completely dangerous, the hours were insane during training, and Molly saw how much time her Uncle Harry spent away from Ginny. But it was his choice, and she knew he'd be brilliant at it. McGonogall had started calling the names of the graduates, and Roxy's screeching told her that Lex was now a graduate of Hogwarts. Roxy had been in a really sour mood about the graduation, and with Molly's help, Lex had given her a Cheering Serum so she wouldn't cry or do something drastic today. Right now she was clapping and hopping up and down so much, you would think she was excited to see them go. If Molly was going to miss anything about this place, it would be Roxy. If only she'd been born three weeks sooner, she'd be up here with Molly, but everything happened for a reason, and there was no telling how their lives would have ended up if anything had been different.

"Carson Bennett, Ravenclaw." He kissed her quickly before going up to McGonogall, picking her up, and swinging her around.

"I'll miss you Minnie." He shouted before returning to his seat and smiling at Molly. "7 years with her and now they just expect me to leave? This is a sick tradition."

"She definitely won't miss catching you half naked all over the castle with her students. Or the permanent indention of your ass on her chair from all the detentions. Or you calling her Minnie."

"It's a complicated relationship, but we manage."

"Kristina Delgado, Ravenclaw." There was an infinite amount of cat-calling as she swayed to the podium. Kristina had somehow managed to stay single the entire time they had been at Hogwarts. According to her, there was no one there worthy of a girl like her, and that was probably true. Single or not, guys loved her, girls loved her, she was wanted by all, but was unattainable. That probably made her even more unattainable.

"Agatha Nott, Slytherin." the Headmaster called. Molly found herself clapping ffor the nitwit. She chalked it up to being glad to see the girl go. Technically, they had never hated each other for a real reason. They were a lot alike actually, just from different houses, and Agatha was evil where Molly wa normal. But it had been seven years of meaningless hate and now it was over. They might only ever see each other in a coffee shop, or maybe out at a pub, or never AGAIN. Who knew?

"And last but not least, Molly Weasley, Gryffindor." The Great Hall erupted with cheering and shouting, which was a bit overwhelming, but whatever. Like her days of Quidditch, it was probably just because she was called last, but she chose to blissfully ignore that thought. She walked up to McGonogall and shook her hand before giving the crowd a little curtsey, and that was it. She was done. It was pretty anti-climactic, but she was now officially done with school. It didn't even take 10 seconds before her mother was running to her and hugging her in a really teary, tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you Molly, your dad-he would be so, so proud."

"I know he would, thanks."

"I can't believe my Molly is a grown woman, we've got to take pictures-"

"We took pictures before, mother. I want to say goodbye to my friends."

"Are you sure? You aren't just avoiding? If you're feeling overwhelmed, we cant talk about it. The therapists said to-"

"Seriously Mom, chill. Take a few breaths. I'll be back, I'm not going to explode with the inner most emotions hidden within my soul."

"But the pictures-"

"We took a million pictures before, we don't need anymore. I swear. Um..Lucy! There you are, are you ready?"

"For…?"

"Your tour of Gryffindor that you've been bugging me about."

"But I didn't-"

"I know I'm excited too. Sorry mom, duty calls. I'll meet you later."

* * *

><p><strong>Dominique<strong>

Dom walked back up to the common room with the rest of the family after the graduation. They were going to get their things and give Lucy a tour of the tower. So far today Dom had been blending in with them, but had yet to apologize. The timing just hadn't been right.

"Stop thinking about it, just do it!"

"Merlin's crotch! You have to stop sneaking up on me like that."

"This is your time."

"Thanks, Seer Fred. Your all-knowing power soothes me."

"Don't pull the attitude with me, I'm on your side remember? You're either going to do it now or look like an idiot standing in the middle of the room."

"I can't-"

"Go!" he said, right before he shoved her into the middle of the room rather awkwardly. Fred was giving her a sly thumbs up, and she wished she could do wandless magic.

"Excuse me everyone." She said, causing them all to look at her. No one said anything so she decided to continue. "Oh, well I just wanted to say that I know I've been acting a bit off lately, but I'm better now. I needed some time to myself, and I got it and realized how much I had been taking you all for granted. I know things won't go back to how they were before, but I would like to at least try. So, I'm sorry." Everyone remained silent, and she looked to Fred who just shrugged. Linden, however, smiled and motioned for her to continue. "I hope that you all can forgive me for everything I've done and put you through, and that we can get to know each other. Again. I mean, like start over."

"Uh. What?" Lily asked, not looking very convinced. "Where did that come from?"

"I know, it's random a way past due, but I'm sorry."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I mean it. I want a second chance and I know there's a lot you all have to forgive me for, but I'm willing to earn your trust again."

"How do we know that you won't just turn on us?" Rose asked.

"And you've said some pretty nasty things," Al added, "we're just supposed to forget about all of that, I guess."

"I didn't mean those things-"

"So you were just intentionally trying to hurt people then-"

"Look, I know what I've done. I remember every action, every word, every trip and birthday I missed, everything. I've accepted it and I'm ready to move on, so don't make me keep suffering for mistakes I've already owned up to. I mean seriously, what do I have to do to prove to you all that I've changed and that I want to be a family again? Because I swear I'll do anything at this point."

"Anything we want?" Hugo asked curiously.

"Anything."

"Kiss Hugo's arse!"

"Turn McGonogall's hair orange!"

"Pants Teddy in front of the whole school!"

"Chop your hair off!"

"Jump in the lake." James said calmly, as if he'd just told her to check the weather. The looks on the remaining members of the family told Dom she wasn't the only one that heard it, nor was she the only one that thought it was crazy.

"What?"

"Jump in The Black Lake. You said you'd do anything, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I have to jump in now?"

"Right now. Or don't, your call."

"Fine. Let me just go change-"

"No. No bathing suit, no make-up protecting charms, no swimming cap; just jump in as you are now, and all is forgiven." She wanted to protest, looking down at her very expensive shoes, but this was the first time James had spoken directly to her in at least a year and a half. She straightened up and started walking towards the door without another word. "I knew you wouldn't do it. Where are you going?"

"To the lake. It won't get any bloody warmer now, will it?"

This was like déjà vu. All of them running through the castle like madmen on graduation day. The last time someone had ended up married, this time someone was going to drown. And it was going to be her. The things you do for family.

"Well, here we are." she said to the group that had followed her outside. Her family, and their tag alongs. Speaking of, she should probably learn their names and stop calling them tag alongs.

"This is the part where you jump in." Rose said cheekily.

"This is the part where you guys realize that by coming out here I've shown my allegiance to all of you and we laugh about it later, right?" Their little audience simply looked on as if they hadn't heard a word she'd said. "Of course, not." she said more to herself as she faced the vast body of water. Even in the day time it looked menacing and evil, but the thought of her family never forgiving her was scarier. She took a deep breath and got a running start before gracefully hopping into the water. As soon as she broke the barrier, the cold consumed her. It was freezing and refreshing, and she felt awake. It was kind of like she was washing away all of her past worries, and cleansing her body of all the negativity and disappointment. She felt free and hopeful for the first time in a long time, and while she half expected all of her family to have run back into the castle, when she came back to the surface she heard cheers of approval and applause from the lot of them. How dare they not think she would jump in this disgusting lake? Three years ago she would have been the one daring people to jump in creepy, dangerous lakes. "Well?"

"Are you barking? I forgive you!" Lily said quickly.

"You never did anything to me," Lucy added, "But I forgive you, still. And you're my hero for jumping in that ghastly lake."

"Ditto." Hugo added, "That was pretty brilliant."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree. That was awesome." said Albus.

"You're my sister," shrugged Louis, "of course I forgive you."

"Glad to have you back, D." Fred said with a nod.

"Oh yay!" Roxy said, jumping up and down and smiling a huge, painful looking smile." This is so great! All of us back together! I really didn't think you had it in you to say you're sorry or get your hair wet."

"Especially in your favorite shoes," Molly added with a horrified expression, "I forgive you. And I would like to borrow those shoes. As a matter of fact, now that we're on the same team let's look through each other's closets sometime. Your attitude sucked, but your style has improved drastically."

"I'm sure we can work out some sort of Weasley girl cothes borrowing system. It's long overdue."

"Yes, now you are speaking my language."

"Well I forgive you, obviously," Rose started, "but I also wanted to apologize again for the things I said. I had no right, especially since I had no clue what you were going through. So do you forgive me?"

"Yes, of course."

"I'm a party crasher, but I've missed you and I forgive you too." Linden said from the back of the group. Only James was left, but he didn't look interested in shelling out any apologies. "How stubborn could you be? She jumped in the damn lake, what more do you want?"

"Well it's not like she did a bloody backflip into-"

"James!"

"Kidding!" he said as he ran up to her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm kidding! Of course I forgive you, you daft witch! I can't believe you jumped in the Black Lake, you're barking!"

"Well it was worth it. Disgusting, but worth it. Seriously guys, thank you."

"Woohoo!" Roxy cheered. "I'm going to kill Lex!"

"Cheering Serum." Molly explained. "We're so excited to have you back Dominique. Now let's get back to when this day was about me."

That was fine with Dom. Being popular had been interesting while it lasted, but she missed the days when things weren't all about her. She liked it when she had to compete with 12 others for attention, and having someone to know what was going on without having to explain herself, and inside jokes that had lasted for years and shouldn't be funny anymore, and crazy Sundays, and her best friends, and her family. She would have never admitted it before, but she needed them, and part of her suspected that they needed her too. But even if they didn't, she'd be there for them, like they'd always been there for her.


	41. Honeymoon Avenue

"I feel like my heart is stuck  
>In bumper to bumper traffic<br>I'm under pressure  
>Cause I can't have you the way I want<br>Let's just go back to the way it was"

-Ariana Grande

* * *

><p><em>"What did you do?" Lily asked again. She had no idea what was going on with him, but she knew it wasn't good. "Spit it out, Malfoy!"<em>

"_I was there." he said in a hard voice. "I had been going to their stupid meetings to appease my grandfather and I knew about what was going to happen that day, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I had no idea that anyone would break the Ministry's emergency protocol, let alone that it would be Percy! I didn't think their plan was going to work! That's honestly why I thought nothing was going to go wrong, and I left. I tried to go back but-"_

_"Wait. You knew beforehand what was going to happen?" she whispered, with unwanted tears forming in her eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?" _

_"I couldn't! If I did, my grandfather might have killed me and Merlin knows who else." _

_"So they just used you because of who your grandfather is? That doesn't even make sense! You're not in Slytherin, you're best friends with Albus- everyone knows your loyalties are different than your grandfather. There's something else. What exactly was your part in it?" _

_"You promised you'd listen, remember?" _

_"Yes! Is that not what I'm doing? What was your part?" _

_"I was to be playing both sides, like a spy sort of. Or double agent." _

_"That's ridiculous. What sides are you talking about? This isn't like before when there was a good and an evil. There's just this stupid cult and everyone else. There aren't sides like there were when our parents were kids." _

_"Not exactly sides, but I guess them and your family. I'm the only person connected to both." _

_"My family? So what? You just got close to us to get information out of Al?" _

_"No." _

_"Rose, then?" _

_"No. I didn't know you when this all started, or at least I didn't know you the way I do now. I never thought we'd get close or that you'd become one of the people I care about-" _

_"Me?" she asked, letting the tears fall. "Right. Of course me. Al is your best bud, surely you can't sell him out. Rose is the love of your life and too clever, she'd figure you out. None of the older kids would give you the time of day. But me, naïve Lily, smiles and trusts everyone and can't keep her mouth shut. And I made it so easy, I told you…I told you everything! Personal things, secrets, I thought- all of this time, you've just been using me. All of it was fake." _

_"No! Anything we talked about or felt was real, Lily. I couldn't fake that. You're my friend." _

_"So you didn't relay information to those...those terrorists?" _

_"I had to." _

_"You didn't have to do anything, you had a choice and you chose wrong. You could have asked for help, or told me or one of your real friends. Did your Slytherin buddies get a good laugh out of it? Did you guys joke about how you tricked goody goody Lily Potter into befriending you? How long has this been going on?" _

_"Since the night of Vic and Teddy's wedding. When Rose and I got into that fight, it wasn't really because I couldn't figure out my feelings for her. It was because I fancied her and I didn't want to use her and hurt her feelings. I couldn't tell her that so I just pretended not to like her. I had to get her to back off to protect her." _

_"And then you came to me because you thought it would be better to hurt me than to protect her." He reached out but she recoiled as if she had been bitten. "Did you ever think once that maybe it was a bad idea? What were you planning to do when this was over? Just toss me to the side and go back to Rose?" _

_"If I had known then that I was going to- to start caring about you, I wouldn't have done it. How was I supposed to know you would turn out to be one of my best friends? I thought it was safe with you since you're younger, but every moment I spent with you it became clear that I actually cared about you. I tried not to because- well for fuck's sake you're Harry Potter's daughter, and Al's sister, and Rose's cousin, but I couldn't help it! I cant help it." _

"_Do you hear yourself? I'm Harry Potter's daughter? Al's sister? I'm not just defined by that stuff, I'm Lily. I want to be seen as Lily and I thought you saw me that way but you don't. And we're not friends; I was just a means to an end, and a way for you to get closer to what you really wanted. Just leave me alone." _

"_What can I do to fix it?"_

_"Can you bring my Uncle Percy back?"_

_"No."_

"_Then there's nothing you can do. Just leave me alone and stay away from my family. Stay away from my brother, Rose, don't even think about showing up to Molly's graduation. See how much you have without us, and how much you willingly gave up."_

* * *

><p>Lily felt like crap. Could she be anymore of a disappointment? Gryffindor's and Potter's are supposed to be loyal and brave- and she was crap. It had been hard to look anyone in her family in the face, or speak to them without feeling like a traitor. She had taken a vow of silence, promising to not speaking at all, for fear of saying something she wasn't supposed to say. It had been terribly boring, and everyone knew something was wrong with her, but it was the only solution she could come up with. She had started over exactly 35 times within the first month, so it wasn't going perfectly, but she gave herself points for trying. It was going to be hard to stay quiet at Vic and Teddy's party later on today, but she could probably just sit by herself. She could take one of the 10,000 magazines she had bought to keep her occupied during the summer, or just stay so busy setting up and cleaning that she didn't have time for talk.<p>

"Can we come in Lils?" Al asked from the doorway, interrupting her tumultuous thoughts.

"We?" she asked. James peered out from behind Al with a goofy smile on his face. She let out a frustrated sigh, noting that she would have to start over a 36th time. "Yeah, I guess."

"You talked! Splendid! How is our favorite little sister today?"

"Fine." she said, flipping through the catalog. She had know idea why she was even looking at these cute clothes. Her father would never let her have them and she would have to dress like an infant for the rest of her life. "Is that all boys?"

"No." James said, snatching the catalog out of her hands. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing! Give that back!"

"Not until you answer me. You haven't been yourself all summer. You haven't been bothering us, or asking us to take you anywhere, or bugging us to let you play Quidditch with us."

"Well, maybe because those things bother you. I can take a hint."

"Lil, come on. We're your brothers, we know you and something's up." Al said. Lily noticed him look at James for help, who just elbowed him in the side and urged him to continue. "Well, we think that maybe it has something to do with uh- well, I've noticed that Scor has been a bit dodgy as well. I haven't seen him since the school ended and I just wondered if he had anything to do with it. I know I made a big deal about you two but if you really like him and he makes you happy-"

"Woah, Al, that's not what we talked about." James protested.

"Malfoy?" she asked, making sure she hadn't gone crazy. "Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Well, yeah."

"Do you guys think I'm up here lusting after him or something?"

"Oh, ew. No, but you're both miserable." James said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We thought there was a connection."

"There isn't." she said, getting a little uncomfortable. It had been hard enough keeping it from them from a far distance, she didn't know if she could be such a great liar face to face like this. If she told them what Malfoy had done…they would kill him and hate her. Not that she cared, but she didn't want that on her brothers' hands and she had complained avidly, but he didn't want them to stop thinking of her as their perfect little sister.

"There's something you're not telling us isn't there?" Al asked. She lay her head back and covered her face with her hands. It was just too much. Not only did she feel like an absolute fool for befriending Scorpius Malfoy, she felt guilty that she had been stupid enough to tell him about her life. She felt like she had a hand in…well, it was hard not to feel responsible for what happened to her Uncle. If she had a backbone, or if she had listened and stayed away from him, maybe he would still be alive. She had intended to really make Malfoy pay, but she felt worse about doing that than she expected to. She hadn't told anyone about it, because she thought her actions were rather stupid, and telling the truth would expose her as an idiot. She had chosen to just keep it to herself and let Scorpius alone, but it was eating her up inside.

"I'm fine guys, really. I'm just being stupid. Girl stuff."

"Alright, if you say so. We just wanted to talk to you before dad goes, just in case you fessed up."

"Before dad goes where?"

"He got called in on a case. He told us at breakfast it's something about that crazy group of kids trying to-"

"Dad!" she called, jumping up from her bed and running down the stairs. Her dog Gatsby was right on her heels as she hurried down the halls and ran straight past her mother. "Dad!"

"Where's the fire Lily?" he joked as she ran and threw herself into his arms. She hated to do that because she knew it sent him into immediate panic, but she had a bad feeling about him staying on this case. "Lil what happened?"

"Nothing. Sorry, I just don't want you to go. Please don't go on this case, dad."

"If this is about helping you with flying, I promised. We'll go out after Teddy's house warming party."

"No it's not about that, I just don't want you to go. I want- I want you to stay home this time. Please." her dad looked anxiously at her mum, who simply shrugged and went into the kitchen. Why weren't they taking her seriously?

"Lily, what is up with you? You haven't tried to keep me from going in to work like this since you were 4 years old."

"I just guess I'm paranoid. You haven't been away since the accident and I know you're Harry Potter and everything but- I'm just worried."

"You have nothing to worry about and I'll be extra careful. It's just a follow-up on something."

"I know what it is. I know you're talking about the kids responsible for the... explosion. Have you caught them?" she asked, feeling a mix of relief and dread.

"We have the person who we think to be the leader, and a few others, in custody. I'm just going in to question him. No spells, no duels, just a boring old chat. Ok?"

"Ok. What'll happen to them? The kids involved? And what if any names come up that weren't really involved but just in the wrong place at the wrong time or something? I mean, would they be punished just as harshly as someone directly involved?"

"We're going to handle it as we see fit once we get all of the information. Why so many questions?"

"I'm- uh, I was just wondering."

"I promise I will tell you what you want to know- within reason-when I get back. Deal?"

"Deal. But, if anything dangerous _were_ to happen, could you try and not be the hero? I know you can't help it, and I know you are Harry Potter and you're the world's hero, but you're my hero too. And not because you could probably fight off an army of basilisks blindfolded; you've been my hero since before I even knew who Harry Potter was."

"You're getting way too grown up, Lily. What are you now, 26?"

"Just an overly emotional 13."

"Well, I promise I will be careful and I'll give you all the details as soon as you let me go so I can actually get started on the case." he said, looking down at her hand which was practically squeezing his forearm.

"Oh. Sorry." she said. He narrowed his eyes at her questioningly, before kissing her on the forehead and apparating on the spot. He knew something was up, but she also knew he wouldn't press it until she was ready. Her mother on the other hand-

"Your father may have his daft moments, but I'm on to you Lily. We will talk about this later."

Lily sighed defeatedly. Must she be rubbish at absolutely everything? "Yes ma'am."

* * *

><p>Lily really wished her mom wasn't so nosy. She had been giving Lily that 'you're in so much trouble' look for almost three hours now. Now she was going to have to come up with a lie to tell her to get her off of Lily's back about why she'd been acting weird lately. If there was anyone she would hate to find out what she'd done more than Lucy or Molly, it was her Mum. Maybe she'd fake boy problems; it was close enough to the truth after all. But she'd have to come up with a pretty good story for James and Al to not know the bloke or have told their Mum already. <em>Why did everything have to be so complicated?<em> She thought, as she twisted her butterbeer around in circles on the table.

"Awesome party, but way too many people around for my liking." Lysander said, coming to join her at the table. Vic and Teddy were playing host to what seemed like half of the Wizarding World as a sort of housewarming party for their first real house. According to James, the whole point of the party was so that Ted and Vic didn't have to buy their own pots and pots. Free gifts or not, Lily found it quite stupid to invite so many people over knowing how badly people would want the address and pictures and stuff. Every other Weasley house was heavily guarded with spells, but maybe they weren't planning on attracting much attention from reporters and the like. "Gryffindor to Lily! You in there?"

"Hmm?"

"Lucy was insistent that you were taking a vow of silence. I didn't believe it for a second, but I guess she was right. You've been a zombie over here for the last two hours. Although that may be an insult to zombies because they actually move and grunt, at the very least."

"You're right." She said, not able to hold back her giggling, which turned into a full on laugh. The bemused look on her face told her that what he said shouldn't have been that funny. "I really have been one of the living dead for the past few months. And I _was_ taking a vow of silence but I'm pretty much rubbish at it. I've been devoid of humor for a while, so excuse me for laughing at your lame joke."

"It may have been lame, but it got you laughing so I'll take it."

"Feeling accomplished there?"

"Actually I am! I, the lowly Lysander Scamander, was able to cheer up _the_ Lily Potter." this also made her laugh, but only because he seemed so excited over something so trivial. He could be exceptionally silly sometimes, but it was fun. Out of all her friends, he was definitely the one that made her the happiest, and the last one she needed to be around when she was trying so hard to be miserable.

"Well, calm down. You didn't cure dragon pox, you goof. You won't get a trophy."

"No trophy necessary. It's more of a personal victory; just let me have it."

"Fine. So how has your summer been?"

"Awful. Yours?"

"Living dead, remember? But my dad is going to be helping me with my flying for Quidditch tryouts so that should be fun."

"You going up against Al for Seeker? You're brave."

"Oh heck no, I'm going out for Chaser. I do not need to get my arse kicked by Al in a tryout. No thanks."

"I'm confused. Didn't your mum play Chaser professionally? Why isn't she helping you?"

"I want to get better at flying, not at arguing with my mum. We don't work well together when it comes to stuff like that because we're too much alike. Are you trying out this year?"

"Yeah. I'll be bloody awful though, no way I'll make the team. Especially with James picking."

"You say that like you're horrible, and you aren't. You should come round and practice with me! My dad won't care and then James can see you working on your skills from time to time. You may not be Oliver Wood, but you'll be improved by the end of the summer and it'll be fun."

"Really? With you?" he asked, before coughing and blushing, "A-a-and your dad? He, uh, wouldn't mind?"

"No! What is wrong with you? You're totally fan-girling over my dad right now."

"I am not fan-girling, whatever that means."

"Yeah, ok-" she was suddenly caught off guard by a distinct voice coming from the garden. There was no way she was hearing what she thought she was hearing right now. She turned her attention to the gate of the backyard and sure enough, there stood Scorpius Malfoy with his mother and father. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to show up here like everything was ok. "What the bloody fuck?"

"Woah, what-"

"I'll be right back. Don't move." She found him he had still lingering by the fence, while his parents probably went to congratulate Teddy and Vic. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"Standing."

"Don't be a smart arse. I told you to stay away from my family!"

"Yeah I remember, it was very threatening. I almost cared and then I remembered I didn't."

"So leave, then."

"You think I begged to be here? My parents dragged me out of the house because Dad and Teddy are distant cousins or something, but by the looks of it the guest list wasn't too exclusive anyway. Trust me, there are more than a couple places I'd rather be."

"Yeah, right. Where? Getting questioned by my dad with the rest of your little gang friends?" he looked confused for a second before recovering his mask of indifference. "Oh, you didn't know? How does it feel to be completely blindsided?"

"Actually, I didn't know that. But again, thanks to you, now I know. Is it some sort of defect you have? You should really work on keeping your mouth shut." She pushed him into the fence, satisfied when his back hit it with a clang and he stumbled back a few paces.

"Don't talk to me like that you arse. I'll tell my family what you've done so fast you won't even know what's happened."

"Your brother and Rose have been constantly owling me. At first I thought they were trying to tell me off, but they want to know if I can hang out, or go to Hogsmead, or visit at the joke shop, or whatever. You _still_ haven't told your family about me, Red! Why not?!"

"I have my reasons."

"Well maybe you're the one that should be getting questioned by your dear old dad. You've certainly helped my 'little gang' tons more than you've helped your own family. Is your love for me so blinding that you can't see what is right in front of you? Pathetic." he said with a confident smirk that made her want to shove his stupid face in a pile of Lena's old nappies.

"Love? You think I love you?! You're mental!"

"Oh come on, why else would you be protecting me?"

"I'm not!"

"You are, Lily! Why are you being so stupid? Don't you get it?! This isn't some fairytale where everything's is going to work out and we'll find a way to live happily ever after. There isn't a silver lining to this, or any explanation that will make what I did make sense. You need to stay away from me because I'm not good. I'm not good for you, or Rose, or anyone else for that matter so why don't you just give your little school girl crush a rest and move on. You need to smarten up and leave me the hell alone. Get over me."

"Get over yourself! I'm not some love sick little baby pining for you. I know what a piece scum you are and thanks to you I feel just as disgusting. I haven't told my family to protect myself, not you. Nothing I do concerns you, I honestly could not care less."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" she screamed, earning her a few stares from some people she didn't know. The last thing she needed was for any of her family to see her arguing with Scorpius Malfoy.

"Good." he said softly. He looked relieved, hurt, and angry all at the same time and she didn't care. Or at least, she was too angry to care. So what if she had liked him? She had a right to like whomever she wanted and he could not tell her otherwise, whether he returned her feelings or not. When she felt a hand touch her shoulder she almost screamed, until she heard the matching voice. She'd never been happier to hear a single voice in her entire life.

"Everything ok, Lils?" There are probably a lot of ways to explain what happened next, but Lily couldn't find the words for any of them. She acted on instinct- or maybe it was impulse, she got the two confused. Everything moved so fast, and she was not able to stop herself. She didn't even know why she did it, or exactly when she turned around and found his lips, but instead of having a staring contest with a blonde idiot, she was kissing Lysander Scamander.

Maybe she stupidly thought it would hurt Malfoy, even though he claimed he didn't care. She knew a person didn't just change like that in a couple of days; there was obviously something else going on with him but it was officially none of her concern. Maybe she was just looking for a way to keep from saying anything else that she shouldn't be saying. Whatever the reason, it was happening- and it was awkward, but surprisingly nice. She wondered briefly if she actually liked being kissed, or not being actively rejected, or Lysander- so it was pretty confusing as well. She had kissed him, which was a bit shocking to them both probably. Seeing as this was her first kiss, she wasn't quite sure what the time frame on these things were, but when she pulled her head back she was greeted with an equally confused looking Lysander. Was that good or bad? At some point she had reached up on the tips of her toes, and he had firmly grabbed each of her shoulders in his hands. They were currently just staring at each other, which was more awkward than the kiss, so she decided to speak since she'd started this mess.

"I'm sorry, that was-" he shut her up by kissing her, much more softly than she had kissed him. Their lips seemed to barely be touching, or maybe she was just a little lightheaded. This time the kiss was really, really nice- like maybe he meant it. Had she meant it? The smile on his face after their second kiss surely made her fell like she'd meant it.

"I've been trying to do that for almost 4 bloody years."

"Oh." she said, blushing and bringing her heels back to the ground. A vague memory of Malfoy saying something about seeing what was in front of you flashed in her mind. "Well, then I'm not as sorry."

"Oi!" a voice called from pretty far away. There was no telling which of her family members it was, and she didn't care. "Paws off Scamander! What are you two up to? Luna! Control that lad of yours!"

"Pretty ballsy of you to kiss me like that in front of a batallion of Weasley's." he said, taking his hands off of her shoulders. She hadn't been thinking in that moment of her family watching. There was only one person she hoped had seen the kiss, and upon turning back around she noticed that that person was no longer there. _Good_, she thought, echoing his sentiments from earlier.

"Pretty ballsy of you to kiss me back." she said nervously. She had no idea what to do now. Did kissing automatically imply they were more than friends? Or had it just been one of those random spontaneous things? Did she even want to be more than friends? Did he? "So, now what? Are we a couple?"

"We don't have to be a couple or anything if you don't want, but, well... I have liked you forever and I think it'd be nice to give it a try. Do you want to be my girlfriend?" She didn't _not_ want to be his girlfriend. Was that the same thing as wanting to be? Maybe she was thinking too much.

"I think that would be nice." she answered, more confidently than she had expected. It actually would be really nice. He smiled a huge smile that she didn't know he was capable of, and realized she was smiling too. "Well, come on then. I guess we've got some explaining to do."

"Oh no. This will be the shortest relationship ever; they're going to kill me." he said, even though he was still smiling. He grabbed her hand and they made their way towards the house. "Totally worth it though."

"So you've liked me forever, eh?" she joked.

"Well don't be expecting a trophy or anything." he said, making them both laugh. Well, this certainly wasn't how she had expected this day to go.

* * *

><p><strong>Heyyyy! So! Malfoy is nuts and Lily and Lysander are happy! But aren't they forgetting about someone? We shall see...<strong>

**Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, etc. I appreciate! Happy hump day!**

**-Jazz**


	42. No New Friends

"I stay down with my day one  
>I don't really need<br>No new friends, no new friends,  
>No new friends, no no no."<p>

-Drake

* * *

><p><em>Roxy had gotten used to the short walk from her house to Teddy and Vic's. She could do it now without thinking much, and just end up on their doorstep. She'd walked this exact same route at least one hundred times over the summer because they always needed her to babysit for one reason or another. Honestly, if they had been paying her she could have bought herself something really nice, but according to her mom she should be happy to do it for family. She was happy to do it, she just felt a little old to be so available. She had no concrete plans since Quidditch camp had ended, and it was starting to become noticeable. Even her little brother had offered to let her tag along with him and his friends to see a movie. That was not happening.<em>

_Today when she arrived at the Lupins', she didn't bother with ringing the doorbell or knocking; she just walked in and saw Vic standing in front of the mirror in the hallway, fixing her make-up while bouncing a teary-eyed Lena on her hip. That was actually fine with Roxy, because Lena's best tantrums were usually followed by a pretty long nap._

_"Wotsy," the little girl croaked pathetically. She lunged violently out of Vic's arms and Roxy had to run a little to catch her in time._

_"Hello big girl! Are you crabby today?"_

_"Roxy!" Vic cut in, "Thank you so, so much for agreeing to babysit. We have so much to do and you were the only one available or awake."_

_"I didn't really have any other plans. Who else did you call?"_

_"Molly's still getting settled at her flat, James and that lot went to the movies, Rose is at the Longbottoms, Lucy and Hugo went to work with Ron, and Al, Lily and Louis were still sleep. I know we probably abuse your help but I literally called everyone else. But if it makes you feel better, you're her favorite babysitter."_

_"Probably because I'm the only one here with her enough to call a babysitter."_

_"Can you call Roxy, please?" Teddy shouted from upstairs. "We have to go, now! What's taking her so long?"_

_"I'm here, you ass!" Roxy screamed, earning a giggle from Lena._

_"Roxy, please watch the language. She's absorbing everything and it's bad enough with Teddy."_

_"Sorry." Teddy came bounding down the stairs dressed up in what looked like a really expensive pair of dress robes. Upon further inspection, she noticed Vic was a bit more seriously dressed than usual. "Where are you guys going anyway?"_

_"Meetings."_

_"Well aren't your mummy and daddy just a bunch of stuffy little boring pants?" she cooed._

_"Also known by some people as adults. Ready Vic? We need to leave like…5 minutes ago."_

_"Do I not look ready?" she asked, seeming a bit annoyed. "Thanks again Rox, we owe you big time. She's already had lunch, there's apple sauce for her snack and Lex is included in the wards here so when he gets here he should just be able to walk up. Call me if you have problems, be safe, be good, love you, bye!"_

_"Seeya." Teddy said, ruffling her hair much to Lena's dismay._

_"Nooo, my Wotsy!"_

_"Alright, alright. We appreciate you Roxy."_

_"Yeah, right." she said, rolling her eyes. Teddy and Vic had never really been the life of the party to begin with, and being parents and married they were even worse. They only ever called her over to babysit and it was always with no notice and at the last minute. The only perk was alone time with Lex, who was allowed to stop by today as some kind of compromise she guessed. Roxy didn't think her family even considered him her boyfriend anymore, he had become sort of a staple. She had to remember tomake him swear that if they ever had kids, they would still be fun and not turn into robots. "What are we going to do today, Lena Bena?"_

_"Toys! Toys! Toys!"_

_"Nap! Nap! Nap!"_

_"Nooooooo toys!" She said, her bottom lip already starting to quiver._

_"Fine, we'll play with toys. Brat."_

_"Knock knock." Lex's voice called from the foyer. "Are you running for worst babysitter of all time? The front door was wide open."_

_" I didn't leave it open. And it's not like anyone can just walk in without me knowing."_

_"Oh yeah? I literally just did."_

_"You are included in the wards, if not you wouldn't have even seen the house."_

_"Oh! Nice."_

_"Yeah, like welcome to the family. They did it on their own too, so I'm assuming they like you."_

_"Toooooooys!" Lena screamed, kicking her legs up and down impatiently. "Wotsy, tooys!"_

_"You heard the lady! It's toy time." Lex said animatedly. He pulled Lena from Roxy's arm and placed her on his shoulders before marching up the stairs. When Roxy got upstairs to Lena's room she found Lena crawling around in circles while Lex charmed a stuffed Panda bear to chase her. "What are you doing for the rest of the day, babe?"_

_"This, I guess. What are you doing?"_

_"I'm thinking about going to that bonfire later. Wanna go?"_

_"What bonfire?"_

_"Anita Fleming's throwing it. You know. Ravenclaw from your year, curly hair, loud..."_

_"Yeah, Anita! Love her." Roxy lied. She really had no idea that was. "I don't know, I wasn't invited and I don't really hang out with my year so much."_

_"This would be a great way to start and get to know some new people. You could possibly make friends."_

_"I'd rather just hang out with the friends I already have. Plus, you and I would be together most of the time so it's not like I'd be doing much mingling."_

_"Well that's the thing, I can't stay the whole time."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Brooks is throwing that going away party for all the people we graduated with. Kind of like a last hoorah."_

_"Oh! Well, I'd rather go to that."_

_"Its kind of only for my class. I mean they all love you, but you'd be the only person from your year there. That's why I was thinking we could go to the bonfire to spend time together, and then I'd peel out with Molly and Carson."_

_"No thanks. I don't want to go to a party I wasn't invited to just to be left so you can go to a party I'm not allowed to go to."_

_"You have to spend a whole year with these people, you should get to know them."_

_"I'll pass, but you have a great time."_

_"You're sure?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure. It's fine."_

* * *

><p>Roxy wasn't nearly as excited for this school term as she should be. There just wasn't much to look forward to other than graduating, and that felt like it was years away. She'd been pumping herself up for her this day all summer, saying she'd be ok, but she really had no clue how this was all going to play out. It seemed like there were so many more kids on the train than usual. She had gotten on about five minutes ago and was still weaving her way through the crowd trying to find a compartment to sit in. It didn't help that everyone had suddenly pressed near the windows, looking at something that must be interesting on the platform.<p>

"Oh is that- Is that Lex down there?" Rose asked. Roxy immediately brightened up and tried to squeeze through a compartment and get a look out of one of the windows. He was really here. That boy never ceased to amaze her. "Well aren't you the luckiest girl in the history of Hogwarts send-offs."

"I'll be right back guys." Luckily for her, she hadn't gotten far from the entrance.

"Hurry!" Rose called. "It's already packed as it is."

"You came!" Roxy squealed, running towards Lex and hugging him as tight as she possibly could. "I thought you had work and couldn't make it!"

"I'm later than I'd hoped, but my normally strict boss found it in her heart to give me the morning off. Do you have any idea how that came about?"

"None at all." she lied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Is it worth it to try and ask you to sneak into my trunk?"

"Doesn't sound too comfortable."

"I know, I'm kidding. Plus, the world of Magical Law Enforcement needs you."

"You make me sound really important. So far I've just been filing papers and picking up lunch."

"And I bet you're awesome at it. I mean, if you brought me my lunch everyday I'm sure I'd be much more productive."

"God, I'm going to miss seeing you everyday."

"Me too. But we'll be ok, right?"

"We'll be better than ok. Brilliant."

"Ok. I have to go. Hogwarts won't keep itself in line."

"Kick ass, Weasley."

"Tell Aunt Hermione I said thanks for the favor."

"Will do."

Getting back on the train was pretty horrible. There were just so many people, and being Head Girl, she was technically in charge of all of them. That's a pretty hefty responsibility for one person, but millions of others had done it before her and she wasn't going to let a few kids deter her. She was made for this. Roxy walked into the Heads' compartment ready to fall into a luxurious nap, but was caught off guard by someone sitting in there already.

"That was quite a show you and your boy toy put on out there."

"You can't be in here. Head's Compartment."

"Great, then I'm in the right place. And I think you meant Heads' Compartment. Plural." he said, sticking out his hand to shake. How had she forgotten about the Head Boy? She had spent the entire summer wondering how she was going to do it alone. "Scotty Beaumont, Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff?"

"Yeah, it seems Gryffindor's aren't the only ones eligible to be Head's. Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are."

"I'm not shocked, just confused. You're a seventh year?"

"Obviously."

"And you've been here for all seven years? And you were a prefect?"

"Yes and yes. Don't worry, it's fine. You're as much of a mystery to me as I am to you, but I think it'll make things interesting this year for sure."

"I'm not a mystery at all, my life is plastered all over the news."

"Well yeah, but not the real you. Just the stuck-up, self centered version of yourself that you have allowed us to see. Nobody gets to see the version of Roxanne Wesley that cozies up to that dreamy dream boat Lex Alvarez at night.''

"You're clearly reading the wrong papers. I'm not stuck up and self centered at all, you've obviously got me confused with Dom 2.0."

"Maybe self-centered is the wrong word. You're just not very aware of what goes on around you if it doesn't immediately concern you. I mean, can you even name a single student in this school that isn't related to you or a part of the super secret Weasley inner circle? Double points if they aren't in Gryffindor."

"Brighton Pearce. There."

"That doesn't count, you dated him for a while. Try again."

"There's a Ravenclaw girl named Anita and she had a bonfire this summer. Ha!"

"You weren't even there. What's her last name?"

"I can't remember my own bloody last name most of the time! I can't keep tabs on every single person here."

"It's not a business, you're not supposed to be keeping tabs on people. You're supposed to be making friends, which is something you are severely bad at."

"What do you know?! You don't know me."

"You're right. And I don't quite care to know you, either." he said as he went to leave the compartment. "Enjoy the train ride."

"Wait, Scott!"

"It's Scotty."

"_Whatever_, Scotty. We need to come up with some sort of plan or have a prefects meeting or something right?"

"Probably. We'll meet back here in half an hour and then come up with something. I've got to go say hello to m'lady."

"I don't need the details." she said, as she watched him waltz out of the compartment. It had been a really long time since she had met someone that didn't love her immediately, and she didn't like it one bit. She was Roxy, everybody loved her!Who did this Scotty Beaumont think he was? Where did he come from? She could admit that she didn't give much weight to people she didn't consider friends or family, but was she really supposed to? She didn't know them! And Scotty Beaumont didn't know her, so she didn't get why he got a rise out of her. McGonagall had obviously made some sort of mistake when she assigned the positions this year so Roxy decided to do a little research on their supposed Head Boy. She found the compartment holding the majority of her family members and slid in, checking the halls for no particular reason. It's not like he would be spying on her, she was just paranoid.

"Hey you guys, do you know who the Head Boy is?"

"No, who?"

"Some guy named Scotty."

"Scotty Beaumont?" James asked.

"From Hufflepuff right?" Rose asked. "He's funny."

"He's so funny." Lily gushed. "I wonder how long it's been since a Hufflepuff has been Head Boy."

"Wait. You guys actually know him?"

"What's with the 21 questions? You don't like him?"

"Like him? I hate him! Furthermore, I've never seen him before in my life."

"He was a prefect, Rox. You should know who he is." Dom said, "But I'm not surprised, you're kind of selective about who you hang out with. Aside from us you only talk to your friends…who've all graduated."

"What are you trying to say? I have no friends now?"

"Well do you?" Roxy thought about it, but the fact that she had to think pretty much answered her question.

"Oh crap." She hated being wrong. "Crap!"

"Well look at it this way," Dom said, "The last guy you hated is now your boyfriend, so this could work out well for you."

"Ugh!" Roxy screamed in frustration as she made her way back to her compartment. So what if she liked to be a little selective with who she hung out with? It's called standards. Did they expect her to become best mates with every Tom, Dick and Harry that she passed on the street? She didn't think so. It's not like any of her classmates seemed to express any interest in being her friend, either. As far as she could tell, they simply weren't a friendly lot like the other years were. Or maybe she really was a self-centered asshole. It was kind of hard to go back into the Heads' Compartment with this new realization, but luckily Scotty wasn't there. Somehow she had gone from being an ugly duckling, to being somewhat popular, to being a friendless ice queen. She had no clue where she went wrong in this whole 'teenage girl' thing. Her thoughts were interrupted when the boy who had completely ruined her day walked through the compartment door.

"You're late." she said to him, checking her watch for the millionth time. There was no way that her hate for him would develop into anything other than a homicide.

"Sorry about that; M'lady got a bit frisky."

"Well I hope your lady is satisfied. "

"Quite thoroughly, I'm sure. But if you're that concerned I could go do a follow up just to make sure-"

"Ugh, you're a pig. What are your credentials to be Head Boy?"

"Ha! That's just rich coming from you. What credentials do you have other than the fact that you were boinking the previous Head Boy?"

"Were you boinking the previous Head Girl?"

"D'you know her name?"

"What is your problem? Did I turn you down for a date in the past or something?"

"Oh yeah, I still haven't recovered from the heartache." he said sarcastically.

"Well you clearly don't like me for whatever reason, so I apologize for whatever it is. Let's just make nice and get this year over with?"

"You really are charming-"

"Will you stop being such an ass? I'm trying to extend an olive branch or whatever. You were right, im kind of a bitch. We acknowledged it, I've accepted it, let's move on already."

"You've accepted it?"

"You had a valid point about me, so yeah, whatever. I accept it."

"Fine."

"Fine." he echoed. It was hard for Roxy to come to someone with her tail between her legs so hopefully he would let it be.

"Well we're getting off to a roaring, awkward start here."

"I don't like you, and you don't like me, so let's try to get through this thing without killing one another or setting the school on fire. We just have to make it through tonight and the first day-"

"And live with each other, and work together all year. Peacefully." he added.

"Tolerably."

"Well I can do that."

"So can I."

"Fine."

"Fine." she said miserably. No boyfriends, no friends; this year was going to be miserable.


	43. Right Here Waiting For You

"Oceans apart, day after day  
>And I slowly go insane<br>I hear your voice on the line  
>But it doesn't stop the pain<br>If I see you next to never  
>But how can we say forever"<p>

-Richard Marx

* * *

><p><em><strong>James-<strong>_

_**Hi! Miss you too! I can't come to Diagon Alley with you lot. Family stuff, you understand right? See you on the train and I promise you will have me all to yourself. Please don't be angry! I'll know if you are. Write back soon!**_

_**Linden**_

_**P.S.- absence makes the heart grow fonder**_

* * *

><p><em>Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Write back soon? Yeah, right. It took her a whole week and a half to respond to him and he found it hard to believe that was all she had to say. Dominique and Fred had to come over to see him because he refused to leave his house and miss her owl, and that was what he got. His letter had been at least a page long and had expressed actually feelings, and she didn't even have the decency to respond in complete sentences. James pulled out his wand and lit the stupid letter on fire. He saw less of Linden now than he did when he wasn't her boyfriend, and this summer had been the worst bit of it. They had broken almost all of the plans they had made, and he had been fine with it at first, but it was grating on him more and more as the summer came to a close. He wasn't going to cry about it, but he certainly wasn't happy about it either. There were things that they had planned to do this summer that they simply could not do through letters. He only hoped that the school year would be better. At least then they would be in the same building; they were bound to bump into each other at least once throughout the year. He was distracted by the sound of Dominique stomping out the flames with her foot and trying to salvage the letter.<em>

_"You did not glue your ass to your bed for a whole week waiting on that letter just to burn it!" she screamed. "What did it say?"_

_"My increasingly elusive girlfriend won't be meeting us at Diagon Alley this weekend. Nothing new."_

_"Oh yeah, I meant to tell you earlier. Well it's nothing to burn your house down over. Though, I'd love to see you explain that to your mum."_

_"How'd you know about it before I did?" he asked, feeling a bit miffed. There was no way she had seen Linden and. Hadn't_ tools him about it.

_"She told me a few days ago when she came over to my house."_

_"She came over to your place when I've been writing her back and forth for 12 weeks like a pen pal?"_

_"Don't get your wand in a knot," Fred said lazily. "She was all up in arms about something and honestly seemed really upset."_

_"Well that makes me feel so much better, Fred. And how did you know? Did she swing by yours afterwards for a hand of Exploding Snap and a spot of tea."_

_"I heard by default, sort of. I was at Dom's for dinner that night, remember? You said you couldn't come because you were busy or something. Waiting on a letter I think." It was official. He was surrounded by idiots._

_"Yeah, I was waiting for the letter from my girlfriend that just came five minutes ago." he said slowly, trying not to get angry. _

_"That makes sense. Well, why'd you set it on fire then? That was dumb."_

_"Shut it, Fred. So not only is she being dodgy, she chooses to run to Dominique of all people. No offense to you though, D."_

_"Offense taken. I'm not the one you should be mad at. It's your fault for being cooped up in your room day in and day out waiting on a stupid letter like it's 1957. Ever heard of a Floo call? __You've made as much of an effort to see her as she has to see you, and maybe that's the problem."_

_"So you two are best mates now? Perfect. The exact thing this relationship needs is you in Linden's ear. She didn't say anything about me did she?"_

_"Like I'm going to tell you. You guys are so immature and it's getting on my nerves. I'm going to go find Lily, at least she has some sense."_

_"What'd I do?" Fred asked, earning an eye roll from Dom. "So, married life isn't treating you too well?" _

_"Ha! Married people get far more action than I do Freddy. Hell, you get more action than I do and you're single. I can't believe you did it with Leah, of all people."_

_"We're practically together anyway and she's always been a bit of a free spirit."_

_"Touché. I just don't get it; she doesn't even want you to be her boyfriend or anything."_

_"I would make it official if she wanted, but neither of us really sees the point. I don't like anyone else and neither does she; saying we're boyfriend and girlfriend won't change that fact, and if it did, we'd have a bigger set of problems."_

_"Well it looks like you guys have it all figured out, then."_

_"Rox thinks we're complete nutters and that it's going to blow up in our faces one day, but I choose to think positively. So when are you and Linden gonna…you know?"_

_"Well to quote her, 'Probably never.'"_

_"I doubt that. I'm still convinced sexual tension is the whole premise behind you two."_

_"It's not even that. I mean, obviously I want to but I'm not going to be a dick about it. I'd just like to see her for more than 15 minutes at a time without other people listening or watching or interrupting. It's a little frustrating that she doesn't seem to find it pressing to spend time together."_

_"I will say, she seemed abnormally sad at Dom's the other night. Whatever family stuff she's dealing with must be really tough."_

_"I bet it is, but she should be able to talk to me about it. I still don't understand any of it. I mean, doesn't the story just seem a bit spotty? She gets disowned for being Gryffindor, and her mother was hiding or sent away or whatever, then some weird kids attack the Ministry; now they're just back in town and she's working on her relationship with them. It's something way off about all of them- Scorpius too. And if Theodore Nott is really her father, wouldn't that have made Agatha her sister? None of it makes any sense to me."_

_"It does seem strange when you say it all together like that, but until she comes to you about it there really isn't anything for you to do. And before you suggest it, yes, we are too old to go digging up dirt about her family and their oddities."_

_"Think Dom will tell me?"_

_"I can't even imagine what that info would cost you if she did agree to tell you, which would never happen."_

_"Fine. Aren't you the least bit interested though? I mean something's clearly wrong and she felt she could confide in Dom and not me-"_

_"Hey, crazy, you're getting worked up over nothing. She's a girl, they confide in each other about stuff all of the time. It's not a big deal. I'm serious, James-"_

_"Alright! I get it. I'll let it alone."_

_"Good." He was going to let it go for now, but at the first sight of fishy behavior (assuming he saw her again before he turned 27), he was going to figure out whatever was wrong on his own._

* * *

><p>"Finally!" James exclaimed as Linden appeared from wherever she had been and joined him on the couch in the common room. She was holding a plate of something that smelled absolutely delicious, but he couldn't focus on that now. It was only the second week of the term but they were already extremely busy and had found little time to be together or figure out what was going on with her. Much to his disbelief, they hadn't found any more time together during the term than they had in the summer. It was ridiculous. They didn't have all of the same classes anymore, and of course their free periods didn't match up. Linden was busy with whatever it was that she did all of the time, and he was getting ready for Quidditch trials; they had literally scheduled alone time for today and she was late. "It certainly took you long enough."<p>

"I got held up, but you've had quite an eyeful over there to keep you entertained." she said, nodding toward one of the tables across the room. He followed her gaze to a table, where five 5th year girls were whispering and smiling. One of them was either winking at him or trying to get something out of her eye.

"I'd hardly noticed." he said truthfully.

"Yeah right. They're giggling like idiots and looking right at you."

"Bully for them, I'm taken. What did you get held up with? Family stuff?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and smiled that smile that meant she was annoyed; it was the smile he was used to seeing her wear since the day they met. The smile that he subconsciously liked to put on her face, because it was one that was reserved especially for him.

"No, actually. I was just minding my own business."

"Fine. What's on that plate there?" he asked. Not able to ignore the amazing smell wafting toward him. She lifted the top off of the lid and could have died right there. "Chocolate biscuits? I forgive you for ignoring me for the last 6 months. You are an angel!"

"They are not for you, James Potter!" she snapped, smacking his hand away from the plate of cookies.

"You're pretty bold bringing your secret boyfriends treats out in front of me."

"They're for Proffesor Davison."

"Well that's a serious down grade Love, you can do better."

"He gave me an E on that first paper we did and it was clearly O material. These are to help him see that." she said, peeking at her watch. "We've only got 30 minutes of alone time left; so come on, let's snog or something."

"Oh, the romance." he said, pulling her onto his lap and kissing her, as requested.

"Just hush." she breathed, deepening the kiss. As much as he liked to deny it, what the two of them had-when they had time to have something- worked. Probably because nothing had really changed since they started dating. He still gave her a hard time and she still busted his balls, but their little arguments had more of a fun edge than actually mean or angry. James had never been mean, but if you let Linden tell it he was an absolute terror.

"James?" a voice that did not belong to his girlfriend asked. Of course, that girlfriend pulled away and plastered on her goody goody smile. The one that did absolutely nothing for him, because it meant business.

"Hello Travis!" she said, practically beaming.

"Hi. James, are you busy?" James rolled his eyes and gently nudged Linden off of his lap.

"It may not seem that way to you now, but just wait until you're a bit older." the younger boy opened and closed his mouth several times, seemingly confused. "No Travis, I'm not busy."

"Can I get a quote from you about the Quidditch trials for the school paper?"

"There is no school paper."

"Not yet, but we're starting one. It would be brilliant if the paper had a quote from each house in the first issue."

"Do you mind?" he asked. She looked down at her watch weighing her options, then waved her hand in the general area of James and Rita Skeeter Jr. "Fine, Travis. What do you want to know?"

"This is so cool! Ok. How many spots do you have on the team open this year?"

"Seven. Well, six since I sort of have to be on there."

"But you've already got Roxy and Al, I hear your sister's coming out as well as Louis-"

"Listen, the Gryffindor trials will be based solely on merit, not last names or who I know. There's plenty of talent in this house, and I plan to pick the best. Don't believe me, come watch for yourself."

"Really? Awesome! Maybe I can write a piece-"

"It wouldn't be too beneficial to the team if you went telling everyone about the trials, now would it? How about a piece after the first game?"

"Right. That- that'd be great! Thanks James!"

"Seeya Travis." he said, before turning to Linden and closing the textbook that she was about to dive into. "None of that right now, we've got like 15 minutes before we have to go to our next classes."

"Make that 10 minutes. I forgot I promised Dom I'd bring her some-"

"10 minutes. Fine." James went in for a kiss but she dodged it, sending him flying into the pillows behind her.

"Sorry, incoming." Linden said, giving him a weird look.

"Uh, James?" another interrupting voice asked. He recognized it immediately this time.

"Ugh. Scamander?"

"I kind of need your help with something." When did James become a freaking wishing well? He was under the impression that he was nosy and always butting into peoples lives, but now they seemed to be putting a serious damper on his. Maybe this was the universe's cruel payback. "Well, the first Hogsmead weekend is coming up and- well, I want to do something special for Lily since this is going to be our first real date."

"And?"

"What should I do? Where do I start? I really like her, I don't want to screw it up."

"How about you start by shoving a-"

"Lysander!" Linden interrupted, pushing a chocolate biscuit in James' mouth. "You both like Quidditch right? You practice together sometimes?"

"Yeah."

"Well why don't you take her out flying?"

"Shep'rate booms." James said, his mouth full of delicious treats. He knew these biscuits were the work of the elf Tippy, who he would be thanking later. That elf sure had a way with biscuits.

"Same broom; butt out and eat your cookie."

"Buh 'e came t'me." he said, earning a smack on the head from Linden. She was an abusive little thing. "Ow!"

"He's right anyway. Lily will hate sharing, she'll feel like I'm babying her."

"She won't hate it. Just bring her some flowers and make sure you're very gentlemanly all day; hold doors, help her onto the carriages, offer your jacket, that kind of thing. Then take her for a walk, there will be a broom waiting for you at Madam Pudifoot's. Suggest taking the broom for a spin, offer to let her steer, and voila! Putty in your hands."

"Keep those mangy little pre-teen hands to yourself, too." James interrupted.

"How am I going to get a broom out at Madam Whatever's?"

"Don't worry, it'll be there. You just remember to do everything exactly the way I told you."

"Thanks Linden, this is going to be brilliant! See you at Quidditch trials, James."

"Mmm." James grunted, eating another biscuit while Linden was basking in the date fairy afterglow.

"Did you see how excited he was? He's so sweet."

"If only you got that excited about me, we'd really have something here. Can I have another biscuit?"

"No! They aren't for you."

"Why are you so invested in my sister's date with her ruddy boyfriend?"

"Lily's my friend, she's not going to expect him to do something so sweet. For some reason she's got it in her head that she's dull or unattractive. It's probably from you guys calling her a baboon and a midget all throughout her childhood."

"Well she's four foot nothing and she's spry like a little monkey. We thought it was a compliment. And anyway, Lysander calls her a midget and she gets all flushed and giggly. He can thank me if he likes." she narrowed her eyes at him, and tilted her head to the left, then a little to the right, then to the left again. "What?"

"You're actually handling this way better than I could have ever imagined. Are you feeling okay?"

"What did you expect? For me to go mad, forbid her from seeing him, and make her cry or something? It would be a waste of everyone's time, she doesn't even like him."

"Oh come off it, she's smitten."

"Until that day at Teddy's, I'd never heard her utter a peep about Lysander. Most girls moon over boys and keep diaries and write the blokes name all over their parchment in class. I know my sister well enough, thank you very much."

"If I lived with you, I wouldn't keep a bleeding diary so you could steal it and read it. Plus all girls don't moon over the guys they like. I never mooned over you."

"It was obvious that you liked me, Linden. You got your knickers in a twist every time I came round. Just hearing my name sent you nuts."

"I think you've gone and confused reality with the wicked little dreams you used to have about me."

"Well, if you keep saying things like 'wicked little dreams' you're going to get me all hot and bothered."

"We can't have that." she said, rolling her eyes, while he once again reached for the plate of biscuits. "James! You had two already, you pig!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Oh, crud! I don't have time to bicker with you, I have to go."

"Wait! We didn't even get to talk-"

"Well, I'm sorry. This was the time we had for today and I can't manage who needs to speak with you and when."

"So it's my fault we suck so much right now?"

"It's nobodies fault and we don't suck, that's a really mean thing to say. It'll get better."

"When? As soon as you tell your family about me so it's not a secret anymore? I bet that would free up tons of space on your schedule." he could practically hear her shoulders tense, but she made no other indications that she'd heard what he said. Interesting.

"I can't have this conversation with you right now, I have class and so do you."

"This is important! Who cares about class?"

"I do." she said, taking a deep breath and plastering on a forced smile. He had know her long enough to know that that smile signaled the end of the conversation. "I'm done with this little fight, James. I really don't have time to argue."

"Well humor me for two more seconds. How are you going to get this special magical broom to Madam Pudifoot's this weekend for Lysander?"

"You're going to go with the earliest carriages down and put it there." she said, kissing him on the cheek and grabbing the plate of biscuits. "I've got to meet Dom like…now. Seeya, babe!"

"Ugghhhhhh! Of course." he whined, as he watched her run out of the common room frantically. She didn't mind being late for their daily scheduled alone time, but she felt the need to sprint to find Dominique. James kicked over Potions book in frustration, and did his best to calm himself down. So far, this year had been a complete fail. At least now he knew that she was definitely hiding something. His depressing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. He opened his eyes to find one of the 5th year girls standing over him, holding his Potions book. He swore, the skirts got shorter and shorter around here every year. "Caroline."

"James." she said, a little too sweetly. "Rough day?"

"You wouldn't even know. Thanks for getting my book, I have to get to class."

"Me too. I'll walk with you if you'd like."

"I'm actually in a bit of a rush. Sorry."

"Maybe another time then?"

"Listen Caroline, I don't know what you think you're doing but I have a girlfriend and I'm not interested."

"In your girlfriend or in me?" she asked, giggling. "Kidding. But if you asked me to skip class with you, I'd say yes in a heartbeat."

"I bet." he said, brushing past her and walking out of the Common Room. So far, the only thing absence was making him fonder of was every other girl he laid his eyes on. Stupid, stupid girls. If this was some kind of test that life was throwing him, he hoped the pay-off was worth it in the end. He was going to put all of his frustrations toward figuring out what was wrong with Linden. He had really been joking when he said she was hiding him from her family, but he seemed to have struck a nerve with the comment. Was she ashamed to be with him or was he reading too much into her strange behavior? Whatever it was, he was gong to figure it out and fix it, and clearly he was going to have to do it on his own.

* * *

><p><strong>Young Adults<br>**Teddy Lupin- 22; Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks  
>Victoire Weasley- 20; Bill Weasley &amp; Fleur Delacour<br>Molly Weasley- 18; Percy Weasley & Audrey Carrizales  
>Carson Bennett-18<br>Lex Alvarez (Gryffindor)18

**7th years  
><strong>Roxanne 'Roxy' Weasley (Gryffindor) 17; George Weasley & Angelina Johnson

**6th years  
><strong>James Potter -16; Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley  
>Dominique Weasley-16; Bill Weasley &amp; Fleur Delacour<br>Fred Weasley -16; George Weasley & Angelina Johnson  
>Carter Thomas- 16; Dean Thomas &amp; Parvati Patil<br>Linden "Love" Nott-16; Theodore Nott & Daphne Greengrass  
>Zack Longbottom-16; Neville Longbottom &amp; Hannah Abbott<br>Hollis Yates-16

**5th years  
><strong>Albus Potter -15; Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley  
>Rose Weasley-15; Ron Weasley &amp; Hermione Granger<br>Scorpius Malfoy-15; Draco Malfoy & Astoria Geengrass  
>Reid Longbottom- 15; Hannah Abbott &amp; Neville Longbottom<p>

**3rd years  
><strong>Louis Weasley-13; Bill Weasley & Fleur Delacour  
>Hugo Weasley-13; Ron Weasley &amp; Hermione Granger<br>Lily Potter-13; Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley  
>Lucy Weasley-13; Percy Weasley &amp; Audrey Carrizales<br>Chance Finnegan- 13; Seamus Finnegan & Lavendar Brown  
>Lysander Scamander-13; Rolf Scamander &amp; Luna Lovegood<br>Lorcan Scamander-13; Rolf Scamander &Luna Lovegood

**Babies  
><strong>Olivia Finnegan- Madison & Chase  
>Lena Lupin- Victoire &amp; Teddy<p> 


	44. Bigger Than My Body

"Maybe I'll tangle in the power lines  
>And it might be over in a second's time<br>But I'll gladly go down in a flame  
>If the flame's what it takes to remember my name"<p>

-John Mayer

* * *

><p><em>Teddy woke up to the smell of cinnamon teasing his senses. He reached behind him to where his wife should have been but was greeted with a head of curly hair that could only belong to one person. Since hey had moved into their new house and Lena had gotten a room of her own, she hadn't slept through the night unless she was in bed with them. Vic swore she needed to learn to sleep on her own, but Ted couldn't bear to hear her wailing and calling for him in the middle of the night. He did understand that he'd have to eventually let her get used to it, unless he wanted an 8 year old sleeping between him and Vic every night. He turned over to find her staring at him with her wide blue eyes, not sleeping at all.<em>

_"Good morning Lena Bena."_

_"Da!" she screamed, giggling and kicking her legs all over the place. "Da da dada! Uppy!"_

_"Glad to see me? " he asked as he got up and lifted her out of the bed. "Let's go see what Mummy is doing." _

_"Mumumum." Teddy was amazed every day by how much she grew and learned. She only knew about five words, but had picked up a huge number of sounds and noises that entertained him and Vic for hours. Her chubby hands were getting more and more slender every day and her legs seemed to stretch out a bit more with echo week that passed. When he got into the kitchen the smell of breakfast almost knocked him unconscious, and the sight of his wife with her hair tied into a messy bun and her glasses drinking her coffee almost did him in completely. She thought she looked terrible this way, but Teddy liked her like this; with her guard down and not trying to be and seem perfect for others. Her image meant everything to her and Teddy loved that she could be herself with him. He attempted sneaking up on his wie, but the excited baby in his arms had other plans. "Mum mum!"_

_"Lena!" she gasped, looking thoroughly amazed at the sight of their daughter. "Good morning sweetie! Did you wake dada silly girl? She's been trying to wake you up since 4 am."_

_"It was the breakfast that got me up, Lena was fine." he said, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Morning, love."_

_"Morning." she responded, pulling him in tighter for a nice hug that was probably squishing their child. How could you not love a woman that did things like that? "Big day today! You ready?"_

_"Ready as I'll ever be. You think they'll go for it?"_

_"Babe, you're building a school, not starting your own Quidditch team. They're going to love it."_

_"We're asking for a lot of money." He said, as he practically inhaled his breakfast._

_"Yes. Money that they have plenty of and are ready to give to a person that has a good reason to use it. This is what their Board is for; to fund charitable efforts in the Wizarding World. You're doing a good thing."_

_"You're so calm and confident. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"_

_"You don't need me there. How many great business ventures started with the bloke introducing his wife to his future boss."_

_"Honestly, probably more than you think. Especially when that bloke has the hottest wife on the entire planet."_

_"Well it won't work this time. The Board is just a bunch of stuffy, boring, old people."_

_"True. Big day for you today as well, though. What time do you have to go to St. Mungo's?"_

_"12:30. I'm really nervous about my exam results. If I didn't pass, that;s it. I'm not a Healer. I won't get a retake for a whole six months and I was way behind on the material all year as it is. As a matter of fact I-"_

_"Probably did fine. You're worrying too much."_

_"How do I not? I mean, I know I said I maybe didn't want to stick with the Healer thing, but I wanted to do it on my own terms, not flunk out."_

_"You haven't flunked out. I promise. Has she Lena Bena?"_

_"No no no noo!"_

_"See?" he asked very happy with Lena's response. "Lena's very sure of this, as am I."_

_"Now who's calm and confident? Maybe we should just switch and take each others meetings."_

_"Nice idea, but it wouldn't really be fair. You'd have to give a whole presentation and I'd just be hearing Cho Chang tell me you're now a certified Healer."_

_"You're right, I'm freaking out over nothing. I guess we should get started getting ready soon. I want to get Lena to The Burrow before her nap so she's less of a bother."_

_"Molly has been taking care of children for more than half of her lifetime; she can handle our little terror whether she's sleepy or not."_

_"I happen to be on of those kids she's taken care of and I like to thank her sometimes by not sending a cranky, hungry baby to her house for a whole day. Now you need to eat up and get ready, I'll dress the cutest baby in the world and we'll floo over to the Burrow."_

_"Aye aye Captain." he responded as he sat down at the table. It didn't take him long to devour his breaksfast. If Vic was really thinking about quitting the Healer's program, she could do quite well as a chef._

* * *

><p>Walking into the Ministry, Teddy had never been more nervous in his entire life. Today was the day he was going to give his proposal for his school. Even with the money he and Vic had from their inheritance- which their new house had hardly put a dent in- they were going to need more money to get the place going and keep it open for more than a year. They needed investors, which was why Teddy was dressed in his most uncomfortable robes, getting ready to present his idea to the Board of Directors from one of the biggest Corporations in their world. It wasn't that he was nervous to present his idea, this just sort of marked the first grown up thing he was going to do in his life. Well technically the fourth, after getting married, having a baby and buying a house; but just because they had done those things earlier than most didn't make them adults. He walked into the huge building and tried to look as confident as possible as he strode towards the reception desk.<p>

"Good morning!" the receptionist said, smiling brightly. "How may I help you today?"

"Teddy Lupin. I have a meeting with the Board today."

"Right on time. If you have a seat in the waiting area, they should be ready to see you shortly."

"Thank you, Miss."

"Miss? You really don't remember me?"

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

"I'm insulted, Professor Lupin. You only taught for a year and you're already forgetting students. Not to mention we were in the same house just a few years before that."

"McLaggen?"

"Elena."

"Right. You were friends with Roxy?"

"Molly. Well I wouldn't exactly call us friends, but I'm putting all of that behind me considering we've graduated. So you're not teaching anymore?"

"Not at Hogwarts, but hopefully I'll be back at it soon."

"Good. You were my favorite. I'll go check and see if they're ready for you." He tried to wipe some of the sweat off of his palms as she walked through the big double doors leading to the board room. He remembered the hours of whining and moaning he'd had to endure about how awful Elena McLaggen was. She seemed nice enough to him, but Teddy didn't dare try to understand what went on in the minds of his cousins. "Teddy, the Board is ready to see."

"Great. Any advice?"

"Well I've only sat in on a couple of these meetings, but they really like ideas that help the greater good and all of that. Once a man tried to get funding for a Wizarding casino and it was awful. Well, good luck!"

"Thank you." Teddy took a deep breath before walking into the room that held some of the most powerful people in this world. And no, it didn't help that he knew them.

"Oh Teddy, you look dashing."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter." he said, blushing a bit at the embarrassing statement. He wondered if she treated all of their clients like that and quickly decided that she probably did.

"You'll have 5 minutes to present a brief overview of you proposal. We will then have a discussion about the logistics of your proposal and either we will call you in to ask for more questions, or you will be free to leave and ay resubmit your proposal in 90 days. Do you have any questions for us before you begin?"

"No. No questions."

"Very well. You may proceed."

"Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Potter & Mrs. Potter, and Mr. Longbottom for taking the time out of your schedules to see me today. As you all know, there were a disheartening amount of casualties left behind after the Second Wizarding War, but one thing you may not have known, is that the amount of children left without parents almost tripled after the war. While some had families to take them in, others were left to fend for themselves or were put into a system that is frankly, not meeting the required to standards to successfully support these children. Some of those left behind after the war came to be my friends and classmates during my time at Hogwarts. Not only were they noticeably less social than other students, they were also left at a slight disadvantage, having to use ancient materials for class, or sometimes having none at all. Despite their situations, they were some of the most kind-hearted, humble, and capable students that I had the pleasure to grow and learn with. Imagine how much they could have done had they had a proper support system and a home?" Teddy said, pointing his wand at the air and producing a hologram of his prototype of the building.

"I present to you, Phoenix Wings Prepatory Academy. This is more than just an orphanage. At Phoenix Wings, orphans of magical heritage will have a place to stay, three meals a day, proper education necessary to be at the top of their game upon entering Hogwarts, school robes and supplies, and a family. I would not be who I am today had it not been for the people that took me in, and taught what family really was. I want these kids to know that they are more than what society think of them, and that there is always a place they can go to. This is more than just and orphanage; it's a home. Thank you." A small sniffle caught Teddy's attention, and he looked up to see Hermione with tears in her eyes. He recognized a look in his father's eyes that he hadn't seen since Teddy went to Hogwarts his first year.

"Thank you. Please have a seat in the lobby while we discuss." Teddy walked out of the office feeling really good about it. He knew it was a good idea but he had no clue that his family would be so impressed with him.

"How'd it go?" Elena asked brightly.

"Good, I hope."

"I'm sure you were brilliant. So, how is Molly? I haven't heard from her in ages."

"She's good. Her office is just two floors up, I'm surprised you haven't run into each other already."

"I'm sure we've just been missing each other. Just give me one second," she said, cut off by a buzzing sound. She stuck her head in the door and he could see her nodding fervently. "Mr. Lupin, thank you for coming in. The Board would like to ask you back for the Question & Answer session."

"Wow, ok. Uh…now?"

"Right now. Go on, you'll be great." She said, as she re-opened the big door to the board room.

"Elena, please star a file for Mr. Lupin. Teddy, we just have a few questions." His dad said. "How do you intend to locate and identify each student?"

"All children of magical heritage can be located with records from the Auror Department. We could assign certain people to different regions to track down kids in those areas, and a local team to find kids in the obvious areas around Diagon Alley and places like that."

"And what ages are you looking to provide shelter for?"

"I am expecting to be able to accommodate as many children as possible, under the age of 11. The ultimate goal is to get them ready for Hogwarts and send them off once they're eligible to attend."

"After our initial loan, how do you expect to keep the grounds running financially?"

"The first loan would probably be spent on the construction of the facilities. After that, we would be mostly supported by donations and grants, and the majority of employees would be working as volunteers for the first couple of years. We've already received a large amount of support from many benefactors that firmly support this idea-"

"Our suggestion," his dad cut in, "would be to not build an entirely new facility from the ground up. We also don't think it should be in such a secluded location, mirroring Hogwarts. You could rent a building here in the city at first. That would cut down on fees needed to construct a building, and allow the kids to be integrated in the community. Does that sound good to you?"

"Um, yes. Yes! That sounds great."

"Alright Teddy, this is going to take a lot of work and you're going to need a lot of help to get things started-"

"I got it?" he asked, not able to play it cool. "Really?"

"This is a huge responsibility, but we all agree that you can handle it with the right help. The Potter Group is very excited to fund your project and we look forward to working with you."

"Thanks so much, dad! Harry! I mean, sir. Everyone! I'm truly grateful, I won't let you down."

"On with you then," his mum said, "you've got work to do. Go!"

"Alright, love you mum. Thanks!"

* * *

><p>"Vic!" he screamed, practically running in the house. "Vic!"<p>

"Hey! Shh, I'm going to put Lena down and then we'll talk."

"Sorry." He whispered. "Want me to take her?"

"No, I got it. There's some mail for you on the counter, I'll just be a second." Teddy looked over at the stack of letters, most of which probably came from family. There was one pink envelope poking out of the pile, but he chose to ignore it as he heard Victoire come down the stairs.

"I have news." He said, trying to sound serious.

"Me too, you first."

"Well, we got the green light. They loved the idea, there were tears, planning starts tomorrow for the school."

"You're joking."

"Yes. I just made all of that up so I could so I could say 'sike' and ruin your good news."

"Teddy, you're not funny! I can't believe it. So tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

"Ah! I knew you could do it! Teddy, this is amazing! This is going to change so many children's lives in so many ways. I'm so proud of you!"

"It's crazy, this is all happening a bit fast. So what's your good news?"

"Well, I'm not in the program anymore."

"You failed? That's insane; they have to re-score you! We need to call Hermione or-"

"No, stop. I passed the test; I only missed one question. When they offered for me to continue at St. Mungo's I turned it down, but I had a good reason."

"The suspense is killing me."

"I was thinking, this school of yours is going to need a nurse. I may not have completed the program with enough hours to be a Healer, but I've got more than enough experience to be a nurse. I'd also get to work with you every day and with children and we can finally have some stability. If that's ok with you, I mean."

"Vic, that's- that's brilliant! I can't believe you did that without knowing if I'd gotten the job!"

"Well I had faith in your plan, it's not like you were trying to start a circus."

"So we're doing this. Together."

"Together, forever baby. I love you."

"I love you too, Vic. I really do." He and Vic had been through so much, and there were times when he thought they would never find peace in their relationship, but it finally felt like things were falling into place for them. He just hoped it would last.


	45. Roll With It

"If you ever feel  
>Like no one cares<br>When you try your best  
>But you get nowhere<br>Don't give in  
>Cuz good times<br>Will come again"

-Backstreet Boys

* * *

><p><em>Today was the last day of summer, and Molly couldn't be any more excited. She, along with Carson, Roxy, Lex and Kristina, were moving the last of their belongings into her new flat. Last night one of her former classmates had thrown a huge going away bash, and it became really real that they were all growing up and spreading out. She found herself sending most of the night telling her friends she'd miss them and saying what was possibly a final goodbye to everyone else. Unlike the other years at Hogwarts, Molly's had been quite close for the most part. Sure, nobody was best friends with everybody, but they all knew each other and got along well enough. But starting tomorrow they were no longer a unit, and each was on their way to forging new paths of their own. Some people were taking gap years to travel, while others were going into muggle universities or training for positions in the magical world. Some people had gotten smaller jobs in pubs and shops, and some had gotten internships. Overall, her class was pretty impressive; or at least they were starting off that way.<em>

_"Earth to Molly! Are you listening to me?" Roxy asked, waving her hand in Molly's face and distracting her from her thoughts._

_"Sorry, what?"_

_"I was asking when you dyed your hair like that. I thought you hated ombre."_

_"I used to hate ombre, until it happened to me. Now I don't hate it as much." She answered, not looking up from her Teen Witch Magazine. Instead of slowing down the moving process by attempting physical labor, she sat on their new couch trying to absorb as much information as she could from the latest issue of Teen Witch Weekly before her internship started next week._

_"It didn't happen to you." Kristina added, "You're just lazy."_

_"I got the lighter color in at the beginning of the summer and just never re-did it. So yeah, it just happened. Do you hate it?"_

_"No, but if you're working for a fashion forward magazine, you better have a better answer for your hair color than it just happened to you."_

_"No worries, I'm actually going darker soon for fall."_

_"That's a thing?"_

_"Yes, it's a thing. And by getting it done early, I'll be ahead of the trend when everyone's dying their hair in October. Genius right?"_

_"You're a revolutionary." Roxy said sarcastically._

_"Thank you. Hey, have you guys seen this article about Demarco Zabini being the most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding World? They say he's single."_

_"Shut up!" Kristina gushed, grabbing the magazine out of Molly's hands. "Oh my stars, these photos are too much for me to handle. I've always thought we were meant to be. Especially after Victoire broke his heart into 5 trillion pieces."_

_"Give that back, crazy! These pictures are amazing though. They've got his contact information, you should try and chat him up."_

_"Like he'd go for me, the biggest good girl of all time."_

_"You may be a virgin, but you're no good girl." Carson said, laughing._

_"Why don't you ladies stop gabbing about bachelors, and help with this couch?" Lex asked._

_"There's no way it'll fit through this door."_

_"It especially won't fit with you three ladies sitting on it."_

_"It will never fit this way no matter if we're on it or not. We could speed up this whole process if someone just shrunk the stupid couch with a little thing called magic, and levitated it inside. Or did you wankers forget you can now use magic freely?"_

_"Roxy, you're a genius!" Molly gushed, "I really did forget."_

_Once they got the couch positioned perfectly, Molly was officially moved into her first apartment. She didn't have to pay rent, and she had a roommate, but this was the closest she'd ever been to being on her own. This was the first August 31st she'd spent doing whatever she wanted in 7 years. She didn't have to do any frantic asking, or hear any lectures from her dad about behaving. Here was no doubt that her dad would never have let her move into this flat without a body guard, or self-defense class, or some other insane stipulation. They would have fought about it for weeks and she would have been able to get him to compromise, because she was one of few people that could make him see reason. Or she was just so annoying that he gave up completely on being such a stiff. She hoped that wherever he was, he was happy and proud and just a little bit upset with her just to keep him on his toes._

_"A knut for your thoughts?" Roxy asked, interrupting her thoughts_

_"I hate that expression. If I really wanted just a knut I could go outside and get one off of the ground."_

_"There's people in the world that wish they had a knut you brat."_

_"No disrespect to those people, but my thoughts are worth at least a galleon. So are theirs. Maybe I can start a program where I literally give people galleons for their thoughts." As serious as Moly was, she couldn't help but join in Roxy's laughter._

_"You're bat shit insane, I swear."_

_"It'll be called knuts for thoughts. That's ironic, you see?" she said through a fit of giggles. She was going to miss these moments with her favorite cousin and best friend. "I'm not joking."_

_"I know you're not joking. It's why I'm laughing. I also sort of just realized this is going to be my first year at Hogwarts without my absolute best friend."_

_"Oh, I know! Goyle must be devastated."_

_"Oh, hush up! You know I meant you."_

_"I just wanted to hear you admit it. You excited about the year?"_

_"No. It's going to be a shit show. Who am I going to stay up and gossip with? And who will ditch study periods with me to lay out? And outfit approval? Who's going to do that?"_

_"Roxy, there are literally hundreds of girls in that school that can do all of those things with and for you. You're related to half of them."_

_"Dom has come a long way in terms of fashion and style I suppose."_

_"Exactly! You've got Dom for outfits and you likely won't have to beg her to lay out, plus Lily's the biggest source of gossip at that school. 13 or not, she knows everything. You'll be ine."_

_"I surely hope so. How about you? Ready for the real world?"_

_"I'm more than excited! I can't wait to go to fittings, and photo shoots, and parties. It will be fabulous." She could see it now; Fashion shows, red carpets, beautiful clothes, and Merlin knows what else. She was so looking forward to the life that she so deserved, and it all started in the next 12 hours._

* * *

><p>Real life outside of Hogwarts was nothing close to what Molly had imagined. She may share a flat with her best friend, and be 2 minutes away from her boyfriend, and not have school, but she still woke up at the crack of dawn, wrote till her hands cramped, and almost passed out from exhaustion when she came home. Granted, the weekends were livelier, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows like she expected. She actually couldn't even remember a full three days where there wasn't some type of issue or drama. She had overslept and been late to work so much that it was beginning to be more of a surprise if she was actually on time and fully awake.<p>

Working for her dream company was great, but being an intern was not as glamorous as she had imagined. As soon as she sat down, she was summoned to go out and get coffee or breakfast. She had edited more articles than she'd probably read in her life, but she had still not actually seen a magazine since she got there. She completely understood that she'd have to work her way up, but she was almost positive they worked her harder than the others to somehow prove she wasn't favored because of her surname. Molly found that unlike school, her last name made people like her less, and she didn't have any actual friends in her office. When she tried to get to know them, she was a suck-up, and when she avoided them to have lunch with friends or family, she thought she was better than the other people in the office. It was really a lose-lose. The only upside was that she knew they valued her writing and style. Her first few submissions to the magazine had been rejected by every single editor at the magazine, but when she submitted a piece anonymously, they had all loved it. She didn't care that they were biased, and thought of her as some spoiled princess, she was going to run the magazine someday and she would do it of her own vices.

"Today was bloody brutal!" a voice called, slamming the door and walking inside of her flat.

"Really Carson? That's no way to enter someone's house."

"Sorry. Bad day. Am I going to have to stage a break-in for you to start locking your door?."

"Don't be ridiculous, I only leave it open when I know you're coming over."

"I come over every day. Auror training has really opened my eyes to the depths of craziness in the world. Please, for me, lock the door."

"Fine, and I'm not being stubborn, but if the door had been locked today you wouldn't have gotten to make your over the top entrance. Plus, any grown wizard deterred by a locked door is welcome duel me if they'd like to try it."

"You're incorrigible. Seriously." He kissed her forehead before joining her on the couched, sprawled out with his head on her lap.

"Please, tell me about this awful day."

"It was the worst. I've never been yelled at or purposely hexed more in my entire life. I think they secretly hate us and are just taking out all of their frustrations on us under the guise of it being training. What ever happened to the kind, quiet Harry that offers up the last piece of pie at the Wesley brunch?"

"He wants you guys to be the best, I don't blame him for kicking you guys in the ass."

"The second round of cuts are at the end of the week so I think they're really pushing everyone to their limit. They're supposed to cut half, so about 30 of us will be out on our asses by Friday."

"There's no way you'll get cut, you're brilliant. How many people will be offered positions by the end of it?"

"15 will get put on full-time and 10 will be hired on a trial basis, but they're flexible on the numbers. There's only a couple of people left from our year; we're at the bottom of the bottom of the food chain in the office."

"That's rough, but I know you'll get through it."

"Thanks, we'll see soon enough. How about you? Make any headway with the people at the magazine?"

"Well I spent most of the day sorting papers and reorganizing stock rooms. So my brain cells stay dormant 5 days a week, but my wand work is getting very impressive."

"Look at you, finding a silver lining. That's my girl." He said smiling. "Gods, I missed you today."

"Really?" Even though they'd been together for over a year now, she still wasn't used to how easily and frequently he complimented her, or just how he always seemed happy to see her. It was like they were never going to get out of the crush phase, and Molly hoped it never went away.

"Of course; I miss you whenever I'm away. Today was especially bad because someone wouldn't let me stay at their flat last night."

"You pay to live in your own space, and if you're here Lex is here. What's the point of you having a flat if you're never there? Plus, if we spend too much time together you might start to get sick of me."

"Not possible. You look knackered; want me to cook something?"

"No, we're going to dinner with Kristina and that guy from that coffee shop. Or is it the guy from the Quidditch match? I don't know, it's some guy."

"Sounds great for Kristina. And you and I have to go because…?"

"Because this is a big deal! We're like a little family and in order for it to work, she has to know that he'll fit in with the group. And don't you want to know what he's all about? We can't let her date just anyone."

"I trust her judgment. It's kept her fairly pure and very single all of this time-"

"We're going-" she started, but was quickly cut off by the sound of a door slamming. "Um, hi Lex! Can I request that if you want throw a fit and slam a door that you do it at your own house, not mine?"

"Sorry. I'm having a rough day."

"Join the club." She could tell by the look on his face that something had gone wrong. Lex usually handled stress and pressure well, so when things got to him it really got him down and seemed to have a domino effect on every other aspect of his life. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be on your way to Hogwarts to meet Roxy?"

"May I direct you to my last statement about my rough day? I was buried in paperwork and missed the last train out. Not to mention a meeting in the morning that I have to be at that will probably run well into the afternoon. You have pepper up already brewed right? I'll be up all night going over these documents."

"There's a full bottle on my nightstand. Have the whole thing, if you need it."

"Thanks."

"How'd Roxy take it?" she had to scream, seeing as he'd gone in her bedroom hunting for the potion.

"Haven't told her yet. Before you chew my head off, I'm going to tell her I just need to get my head straight. If you could prolong your execution wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes, but she'll be devastated no matter what time it is."

"Great." He said as he walked back out of the flat, making a show of not slamming the door.

"Uh oh, trouble in paradise." Carson sang from his place on the couch.

"They're so much like Vic and Teddy, it's ridiculous. There's not quite as dark of a cloud looming over Roxy and Lex at all times, but they sure make it seem that way. Oh! Guess who I ran into today?"

"Finnegan."

"Ha! Speaking of dark clouds. No not him, but worse."

"Worse than Finnegan? There's a short list if I ever saw one-."

"McLaggen." She said, ready to get on with her news.

"Elena?"

"No, the other one. Yes, her! She came up to me blabbing about us needing to get lunch and saying she's been working with Teddy, of all people. She's a receptionist, so I'm a bit wary of her involvement in the building of a school. Anyway, she goes on and on about me being two floors up and needeing to visit, and then got offended when I told her I'd rather rot in hell than have a meal alone with her."

"It couldn't hurt to chat."

"Yeah, and after we can get friendship bracelets and t-shirts with each other's faces on them. It's not that I don't like her, I just don't trust her. We get on best when we just aren't near each other."

"True. Whatever it is between you two has never made any sense to me."

"How so?"

"At the height of you guys' drama, you were with Chase and she and I were single. Then we were all single, and now you and I are together. Call me daft, but I just don't get how the three of us have an issue."

"You skipped right over the part where you guys were dating."

"We were seeing each other casually."

"Yes." She agreed, before realizing he didn't have anything else to say. "Oh, was that your argument? That didn't help at all."

"I will only entertain this fight if there's a promise of a very specific type of making up later."

"We're not fighting, we're discussing."

"Well let's discuss something else, please?" he asked, grabbing her chin very lightly so she was looking him in the eye. " I do not, would not and could not ever want anyone else. Ever. I'm all yours and you're mine for as long as you'll have me. I love you. Ok?" He was very, very close. She had never been this close to anyone physically or emotionally. She was getting light headed and shy with him looking directly into her eyes like he was, almost demanding.

"Ok." He finally stopped torturing her and kissed her softly on the lips. "You drive me mad, Bennett."

"In the good way?"

"In the best way. I'm so in love with you it almost disgusts me."

"You have such a way with words." They were just about to kiss when they were interrupted by the door slamming again. "What now?"

"You'll never believe the shitty day I've just had!" Kristina shouted as she walked in practically dragging Lex in with her. She pushed him toward the couch before heading straight into the kitchen.

"Why am I here?" Lex groaned.

"Sit, Alvarez!"

"Oh no, this must be serious. Want to talk about it?" Kristina asked.

"No." she said, coming back to the couch with an entire bottle of Firewhiskey and 3 cups. "I want to drink about it."

"Just one cup for me." Lex said reluctantly, "I've got work to do."

"Fine. That's all you were getting anyway. Being an adult sucks."

Molly tried to hold in her laughter as Kristina poured half full cups for Molly, Carson and Lex, and drank her portion straight from the bottle. As she told the story of her 'job from hell', the four friends drank, and laughed, and sympathized. As miserable as they all seemed, just being able to talk about it and have each others support made it better. Life wasn't perfect for any of them, but they were doing it. All the struggles, and bad days, and failures were just pieces of the story they would tell when they finally found success and happiness. Until then, she was perfectly content with being young, and broke, and exhausted, and in love, and surrounded by her best friends in the world. One day they'd look back on this time and miss these moments; so she was going to enjoy it while it was here.


	46. Sorry

"I've been thinking lately about you and me,  
>And all the questions left unanswered,<br>How it all could be.

And I hope you know,  
>You never left my head,<br>And if I ever let you down,  
>I'm sorry."<p>

-Sleeping with Sirens

* * *

><p><em>"First years almost over, guys. Can you believe it?" Linden asked the group that had come to be closest friends. Dom was sitting in the Common Room with James, Fred, Carter, Linden, and Leah, reminiscing about everything they'd been through together. The year had been full of up and downs, but overall it had lived up to her expectations.<em>

"_It feels like we just got off of those boats. It flew by."_

_"Really Carter? Because personally, I'm knackered." James answered. "When you mix Quidditch, school work, and maintaining my devilishly handsome good looks, it's extremely tiring."_

_"I would feel bad, except you barely did any school work and aren't devilishly handsome, so there was really no time lost." Dom answered. "Now Fred on the other hand-" she teased. James narrowed his eyes at her but it wasn't long before he broke out into a laugh. _

_"Damn it, she's right. Fred, you are one handsome little devil."_

_"It's in my genes."_

_"Well can I borrow your jeans then mate?" Dom couldn't help but roll her eyes and share one of those knowing looks with Linden. The two of them were always on the same page and could always share private moments regarding other people ridiculous statements without speaking a word._

_"Not jeans, James. Genes. Genetic material." _

_"I know what jeans are Dom, and I look fantastic in them if I do say so myself."_

_"My goodness, he's hopeless." Linden said, shaking her head in defeat._

_"Did you guys forget to invite me to your little pow wow?" Hollis asked as she squeezed herself between Linden and Dominique, interrupting their little moment. If there was one thing Dom could have gone without this year, it was Hollis hanging around them like she was actually one of their friends. Had she not been a Gryffindor or in their year, the two would more than likely not even be acquaintances. It wasn't that Hollis was horrible, she just didn't have the same go with the flow attitude as the rest of the group. And anyone with eyes could see she only hung around to get Carter's attention._

_"Every party needs a pooper." Linden said softly._

_"Speaking of parties, that's exactly why I'm here. Invitations to my annual birthday pool party have arrived. It's a tradition, and I'd appreciate you guys' cooperation."_

_"How is it tradition if you've never had one before?"_

_"Shut up, Leah. Just take your invitations, show up, and I promise it will be worth it." Hollis watched as they each passed the envelopes around their little circle and got a stupid smirk on her face when everyone noticed that Fred had nothing to pass to Dom. "Oh, Dominique yours must have gotten lost somewhere around the castle. I'm sure it'll turn up before school is out."_

_"Oh, don't bother. I'll be busy that day." Dom said. It wasn't like she cared whether or not she was invited to Hollis' party, but she didn't have to make such a scene about it. She knew Hollis only wanted a reaction out of her but Dom would not entertain this idiot._

_"You don't even know what day it's on."_

_"It's on July 24th." Linden supplied, "And she's not kidding. She has plans…with me."_

_"The two of you have plans? Together?" This was as much of a surprise to Dominique as it was to Hollis._

_"Yes. We're going to- um…"_

_"The Quidditch Museum." Dom supplied. "Yeah, it's filled with lots of old artifacts and history about the game; it's really riveting stuff."_

_"I know what it is. The boys weren't invited?" Hollis asked._

_"Nope. They've been to the museum loads of times."_

_"What about me?"_

_"You hate Quidditch."_

_"What about Leah?"_

_"I hate Quidditch." she said from the corner, not giving the conversation much more of her attention._

_"Fine. Since I've been to the stupid museum already-which isn't even that interesting- I'll give you guys a pass for your little lessie date, but next year I won't be so forgiving. You're welcome." she said as she got up from the floor and walked towards their dorm room._

_"Oh my goodness Dom, I owe you big for that one."_

_"No, thank you. I always feel like the only one that thinks she's completely insane. Plus, you didn't seem to want to go any more than I did."_

_"I really didn't. So do we actually have to go to this Quidditch Museum? I mean it sounds ok, but I'm not sure if I-"_

_"You don't have to worry about that. There is no Quidditch Museum."_

_"But she said-"_

_"She's a total phony, don't believe a word she says. We can still hang out that day though, if you want. I'm not sure if you noticed but I'm lacking in the friend department. Especially the girl friend department."_

_"Yeah, that'd be great! I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship Dom."_

_"I agree."_

* * *

><p>"Linden, over here!" she practically screamed. It felt too good to have friends around the castle, and Dom got a little over excited these days when she had plans.<p>

"You seem chipper today. How's it going?"

"Things have been good. I've gone a whole day without pissing off a sibling or cousin and haven't caused any scenes. Also, I haven't been snogging any and every thing that moves and it's so much less stressful not having to keep all of that straight."

"I'm so glad to hear that. And grades and prefect duties are good?"

"Yep! I know Lex and Roxy tried to get me to be a prefect as a punishment or rehabilitation or something, but I actually kind of enjoy it."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. I mean, the mirrors in the prefect bathroom give me great light. And, of course, I love telling people what to do. You're not mad at me for that are you? You would have been prefect hands down if it wasn't for the Save Dom project."

"Oh, don't even worry about it. It's Roxy and Lex, of course they asked if I was ok with it first and I thought it was a great idea. Plus, it shouldn't affect whether or not I become Head Girl. Unless you were thinking about-"

"Merlin, no. I can barely keep our year under control, let alone deal with all seven at once. The job is all yours."

"If I'm selected."

"When you're selected. It's so weird, I've had a close relationship with either the Head boy or girl literally every year I've been at Hogwarts."

"And they say there are no perks to being a Weasley."

"As if you haven't benefitted from those perks all this time." Dom said, rolling her eyes. From the day they had met, Linden had been regarding as nothing less than a part of their crazy clan. "You're family, and marrying James someday won't make that any truer than it already is."

"That really means a lot to me, D. I'm glad we're able to be friends again."

"Of course! Why wouldn't we be?"

"Because of how I treated you. You were the closest thing I had to a best friend in the beginning, but I didn't even notice how much you were hurting. Not to mention I completely fell into Hollis' trap, and looking back it doesn't even make sense that I would side with her on anything. You have every right to never speak to me again." Dom couldn't believe that Linden was feeling guilty about _that_ of all things. It was nice to finally hear someone apologizing to her for once, but it was completely unnecessary in this situation.

"I didn't make it easy for anyone to take my side, and honestly Hollis was a completely different person around other people than when we were alone. I can't blame you for her twisted mind games. It's all in the past, I promise you."

"You're sure?"

"I'm very sure, ok? Water under the bridge." she said, even though Linden still had a guilty look on her face. "Oh my goodness, really it's fine. Do we have to hug it out for you to believe me?"

"Oh yes! Hug it out! That's definitely what we should do." Linden blurted out before latching herself onto Dom's neck. Dom couldn't help but laugh as she returned the hug and embraced her friend. It had been a long time since she had sincerely been able to call anyone a friend, but this was a new year and Dom was make everything right if it was the last thing she ever did. Her family's acceptance of her had eased the scrutiny she deserved from her peers, but she wanted everyone to honestly see who she really was. It would be quite a process, but it had to be done if she was going to ever be able to really get over everything that had happened. "So enough of this sappy stuff, are you're ready for this?"

"For lunch?"

"Well yes, but I have a surprise for you."

"You bought me something?"

"No, but maybe your date did."

"My date? Yeah, right. It's not even a Hogsmead weekend."

"He should be here shortly. And you don't need to leave the castle for it to be a date."

"Linden, no! I don't need new boys in my life! Seriously, I'm trying to get away from all that."

"I know, but this isn't a new guy technically. You can't avoid boys forever."

"I can avoid them for the rest of my time at Hogwarts. I've dated most of them anyway, trust me it's slim pickings."

"You have not even dated half of all of the guys here."

"Close enough. It got so bad that Teddy found out and had a very detailed discussion with me about the consequences of such unsavory behavior."

"Ew. Well I wouldn't do anything to mess up what you worked so hard to get back. I'm telling you, this guy is different and you've never dated. This is happening."

"I used to think you were so sweet, you're a menace!"

"Guess I've been hanging around the Weasley's too much. Oh! James is here. James!" Dom looked towards the door to see her cousin giving Linden a very strange look when he saw Dom at the table. The door opened again, and Dom wanted to sink into the ground. "James! Kenneth! We're over here."

"Linden, are you actually crazy? Kenneth Daly? I've been out with him before."

"Were you expecting anyone else?" Linden asked slyly. Dominique would not admit who she had thought it was going to be coming down with James.

"Of course not."

"I asked around, he said he felt like you and him had a connection, and voila!"

"Ugh, he's a toad!"

"Shh, here they come. Hey, J!"

"Hey Lin," he said, slowly assessing the situation, "Dom."

"Hey boys! Kenneth, you've met Dominique right?"

"I have. Good to see you again Dom."

"Kenneth." she said, as enthusiastically as possible. Kenneth was cute but he was about as interesting as watching paint dry.

"Oh James, did you bring my scarf?" Linden asked randomly.

"Um, no? Was I supposed to?"

"I asked you to this morning, remember? And it's quite cold, I'm going to need it."

"You can use mine," Dom offered, "I'm not even wearing it."

"Don't be silly, it's only going to get colder as the day goes on. James be a doll and get it for me?"

"I don't even know where it is-"

"I'll show you, come on!" She said, pulling him up from the table. The poor kid looked even more confused than Dom was, but he just went along as she dragged him towards the door. Linden was an actual menace, and Dom was going to kill her.

"You can go if you'd like." she said in a shockingly small voice. "I'll give Linden a good reason."

"No, I've been looking forward to linking up with you again. How is it going?"

"Pretty good. Just trying to focus on my marks and family. Did we have any plans or did you just want to chat?"

"No, I thought we'd take a walk through the gardens."

"Sounds lovely." she lied. That honestly sounded like the most boring thing that they could do in this castle on a Saturday afternoon. But fresh air could only be good for her, right? Whatever. "So how have you been?"

Dom was really glad she chose to ask him about himself, because it was clearly his favorite topic. Kenneth was a 7th year with Roxy that came from a very wealthy family. He had no problem relaying just how wealthy he was, and how amazing he was at everything, so she knew it would be a while before she had to respond, and she didn't really have to listen since she'd heard it all before. She was n such a trance ignoring her "date" that she barely noticed the tall handsome young man walking directly in front of her. He caught her before she could completely make a fool of herself, but it might have been less embarrassing to just have fallen.

"I am so sorry, I- Carter! Oh, uh, sorry."

"You ok?"

"I think she's fine." Kenneth replied fiercely while quite literally extracting Dom from her dates arm. Just great. Now he was being all possessive. "Dom are you ready to continue our date?"

"Actually, my ankle is hurting pretty badly. I think I fell on it weird."

"Should I take you to the nurse?" Kenneth asked.

"No, I don't think it needs to be looked at or anything, I may just need to rest."

"I can take you to your-"

"No!" she yelled. "I mean no thank you. You should enjoy the day, plus your dormitories aren't anywhere near Gryffindor."

"Well I can't let you walk up there on a bum ankle."

"I've got her." Carter said. Without another word, Carter put his arm around her waist and began walking her down the hall. She wasn't sure if he thought her leg was really hurt or not, but if he was acting he was doing a fantastic job. When they cleared the hall where Kenneth had been watching them, Carter let go abruptly. "I assume your ankle is ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks." He didn't respond, but he did continue walking with her all the way back to their House. It was painfully awkward, but she'd rather be here than listening to Kenneth's life story. This had to be fate, right? Linden had gone all out to make this extravagant scheme, and now Dom was stood awkwardly in the Common Room with Carter Thomas. She decided this was some kind of sign that they needed to talk, and it was that feeling that led her to break their awkward silence. "Do you think we could talk? I understand if you don't want to but I just-"

"No. We should talk. I want to."

"Ok." She said, finding an empty are in the Common Room and sitting on a couch. He chose to sit on a couch of his own, facing hers but about 10 feet away.

"So how are you? Are you and Daly a thing?"

"No! Merlin, no! That was weird, I don't usually bail on dates like that but he was so…dry. There was a lot of talk about his Quidditch and his graduating and his job offers and his family. This was technically our second date, but you'll probably see me back in a pair of pants before you see me on another date with that brick wall with lungs. I was ambushed. The only reason I agreed was because it made Linden happy and I'm trying my hardest to stay on everyone's good side. I think I'm making progress, though. James and Fred aren't mad at me, and Leah is good and Linden better be ok after forcing me out with Daly so that just leaves you, and I guess that's what I wanted to speak to you about. I'm sorry, what was the original question?"

"How are you?"

"I'm ok. Just nervous. I ramble when I'm nervous."

"Well if it makes you feel any more comfortable I'm nervous too."

"What do you have to be nervous about? You hate me, I'm lucky you're even talking to me."

"I don't hate you. I hate what happened, I hate that us speaking has to make us nervous, but I don't hate you. I do miss the hell out of you, though. You were my best friend and I miss that." This, she had not been expecting at all.

"Carter, I hate this too; I hate avoiding you, and feeling sad and alone, and being so damn pathetic. I can't stand what's happened to me and I can't stand what's happened to us. I honestly just don't get what happened."

"We aren't kids anymore. I mean Merlin, we're so far from those wide-eyed 11 year old kids that met on that train. We've all changed some, but you-"

"I did what?" she asked, almost not believing he was still playing the blame game. This was what she had been expecting. The stubborn Carter that jumped to conclusions and didn't think before he said really stupid things. "I am the one who is to blame for all of it?"

"No! Everyone played their part, it's just that you changed the most and it was the least expected out of everyone."

"So everyone else is allowed to change and grow, but I'm supposed to just be the loyal puppy that always stands by everyone's side?"

"That's not what I'm saying. It's just you were always the strongest, most light-hearted person I knew. You never needed validation from guys or to tear other people down to make yourself feel better. I don't even know what that was."

"That wasn't me, obviously. Or, hell, maybe it was! I don't know. But for you to say I changed more than anyone else is absolute bullshit. All of you just abandoned me, you watched me tear myself apart and nobody even thought to ask me what I was going through. I get that I was pushing people away but it shouldn't have been that easy."

"You're mad! How can you expect people to help someone that's literally self-destructing? If I could have imagined a way to get through to you don't think I would have?"

"You know what? You're right. This was all my fault. None of this would have happened if I wasn't a complete idiot who thought she could change for someone else." She snapped. It looked like he was going to yell back at her, but taking in their surroundings he had probably decided that wasn't a great idea. There were people lingering about the Common Room and they were making quite a scene.

"This is not going well."

"You think?"

"I'm really trying to understand, but we need to communicate better. I think this will go a lot easier if you could just let your guard down and tell me exactly what you're thinking. I can't read between the lines of what you're saying and decipher some bigger picture. I need you to be honest. Is that fair?"

"Fine. And this would be easier for me if you stop thinking of me as your 11 year old best friend. It's not fair to judge me based on who you wish I still was. Talk to me like you would talk to any other 16 year old girl, not like I'm a child that has disappointed you. Is that fair?"

"That's very fair. And I'm sorry." He got up and came to sit on the couch she was on, draping his arm around the back of it casually. Apparently he didn't talk to 16 year old girls from all the way across the room. "What did you mean about changing for someone else?"

"I meant that I changed for you, because-" she took a deep breath, not at all ready to admit exactly how pathetic she was. "because of Hollis."

"Hollis? We're so past her."

"No, actually, we're so not. When you started liking Hollis I thought that if I became more girly like her that you'd stop looking at me as one of the guys and actually_ look_ at me."

"I was looking at you Dom, we were best friends."

"You saw me, but you weren't _looking _at me. I've liked you since the day I saw you on that train and you didn't treat me like some sort of celebrity. I never wanted to be just your friend, it's embarrassing how obvious I was. It was easier to pretend I didn't care then to actually face the realization that you picked her over me."

"I didn't pick her over you, I- I didn't know. Honestly, I never knew. You really liked me for that long?" he asked in a shocked voice.

"Is it really that hard to believe? I know you've never felt the same, but I did. It was hard for me going from this emotionless tomboy to feeling all of that stuff, then not having anyone to talk to about it. It's like in the back of my head I knew you'd never like me over someone you actually considered a girl, and it made me feel so horrible. So I put on a stupid yellow dress and still…whatever. Anyway, Hollis was there telling me constantly that it would always be her and then one day it really happened. I'm supposed to be this tough, bad-ass Weasley chick, but it sucks to not be wanted. I freaked out."

"I don't wear the chain Hollis gave me anymore."

"What?" she asked, truly confused. Here she was spilling her guts, and he was talking about jewelry "Are you high?"

"I don't wear the gold chain necklace that Hollis gave me for our first anniversary. I never liked the thing because I generally hate jewelry, and when we broke up I couldn't get the bloody thing off fast enough. I chucked it as soon as we were over and it was like this huge burden came off with it; It was like I was free from her."

"That's…great?"

"You know the bracelet I gave you for Christmas all those years ago?" Dom nodded, not sure in the slightest where this was going. He pulled out his wand and tapped it twice to his watch, which then shrunk, until only a thin black braid was left. She recognized it instantly. The saddest friendship bracelet of all time.

"You still have it?" she asked, as tears came to her eyes. She was such a pansy. "You started wearing it again?"

"I never took it off. When we stopped being friends and it turned black, I wasn't in any rush to take it off. When I took off the necklace, the first thing I thought of was you and this damn bracelet. I sat in my room for hours trying to figure out why I couldn't just let it go. It was just a stupid bracelet, right?" He scooting over so they were dangerously close to each other. "Then, I realized that it was all I had left of the girl that I loved. The girl that I _still_ love. I would have said something sooner, but Fred was pretty adamant about not letting me get anywhere near you. He swore you didn't feel the same."

"What a lying little shithead!" she said feeling frustrated.

"But I don't blame him, he was trying to protect you. I was so blind to how you felt and of course had Hollis in my ear confusing me more, but in the back of my head it was always you. I tried to listen to Fred and keep my distance but then I saw you at Vic's graduation in that yellow dress and I wanted to tell you how I felt right then and there. I didn't see you all summer thoughand then Hollis had her stupid pool party and she talked to me; about you mostly. She seemed to want to help me and told me all this stuff about how to win you over."

"What? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. It's possible she really had feelings for me, but it's more likely that it was all a part of her little scheme. All I know is when we got back to school you were different and-"

"I started dating Zack and turned into a bitch." Dom couldn't believe how stupid she had been. "Carter, I really am so sorry about everything that's happened over the years. If one of us had just stopped being so self-righteous and listened to the other, we could have avoided all of this." She said. Dom hadn't sincerely apologized to anyone since she was 12, but this time she meant it. She had never meant for them to get this messed up. "I'm sorry for everything. For being so difficult, and blowing all of these things out of proportion, but most importantly I'm sorry for trying to get between you and Hollis. I can't believe I did that, and I know sorry won't fix it or make anything better, but I am."

"I should be thanking you." Now she was really confused. "If it wasn't for you I'd still be with her." He hadn't said it condescendingly, but when she heard the words in that order mixed with the hurt in his voice, she felt her heart break a little bit. She had never meant to hurt him. She kept saying she had done this for him, but all she really cared about was her little feud with Hollis; he was just collateral damage.

"You should have had the choice to make that decision for yourself. I shouldn't have gotten involved at all."

"There's a lot that both of us could have done."

"I'm really sorry, Carter. I don't know if I'll ever be able to express how sorry I am."

"Please stop apologizing, I'm the one that's sorry for- for just being a shitty friend. And for making you feel like you weren't good enough. You're the most beautiful and amazing person I know, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure you hear it every day." He said, making her blush from embarrassment. He could be really sweet when he wasn't being a stubborn asshole. "And you're still a tough, bad-ass Weasley chick in my eyes."

"And don't you forget it." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"These last couple of years could have been so different. I know you thought I wasn't looking at you, but I was definitely thinking about you. I think about you constantly and how shitty my grades have gotten since you stopped being my partner."

"Way to ruin the moment, you prick."

"I'm joking, I'm joking." He said, pulling her back into his body and not letting go. "Earlier when I said I loved you, I meant it."

"I know. I probably love you too. There's this tradition in my family of falling for the first person you ever set eyes on." She said, rolling her eyes. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "But before I can even think about going there with you, I have to make some changes. I need to work on myself and focus on my life for once."

"I understand." he said as he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. She was doing the right thing for once, and they both knew it. "But it won't stop me from trying to woo you every single day. I hope you are prepared to be bombarded by frequent, extravagant, very public expressions of my undying love for you."

"Oh, I am definitely looking forward to that. You aren't going to propose to me at our graduation are you?"

"I was thinking of starting off a bit more subtly- you know, like becoming friends again."

"Looks like we already are." she said as she pointed to his wrist. The tiny black strand that had remained unchanged for two years was now weaving itself into a yellow braid. It wasn't much, but it was progress.

"Well would you look at that? You know, I could get you another one, if you want of course."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, it's cheesy. I just thought that it was kind of our thing, you know?"

"I didn't say I didn't want you to." she said as she pulled her ponytail holder out of her hair and put it around her wrist. "You don't have to make another, because I still love the original. I've hardly ever taken it off, actually." Then the two of them broke out into smiles, looking a lot more like the 11 year old versions of themselves than the 16 year old versions. She was going to have to admit to her Uncle Harry that he was right; things that were meant to be did have a way of working out.

* * *

><p><strong>It only took me a year to get this out, NBD. Let's finish this thing!<strong>

**-Jazz**


End file.
